18-Year-Old Finnish Star Throwing Down High-Flying Dunk at EuroBasket Stuns Fans: “Bro Is a Bird”

Finland are trying to perform better at EuroBasket 2025 with Utah Jazz star forward Lauri Markkanen leading the charge.

18-Year-Old Finnish Star Throwing Down High-Flying Dunk at EuroBasket Stuns Fans: “Bro Is a Bird”

18-year-old Miikka Muurinen (Image via FirstSportz)

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EuroBasket 2025 is underway, and the best of the best NBA stars are leading their respective national teams in the hopes of lifting the trophy. Finland has one NBA star in Lauri Markkanen and a prospective one in Miikka Muurinen.

They are paired in Group B against powerhouse Germany, led by Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder, and Lithuania, helmed by the newest Denver Nuggets backup center, Jonas Valanciunas, who is having a tremendous campaign so far.

If they are to qualify for the quarterfinals, Finland will need to win at least all their games over the lesser-ranked teams in their group. They did so against Sweden on opening night with a slender 3-point win.

Earlier, they were pitted against tournament minnows, Great Britain. Markkanen and his teammates jumped into the lead from the outset and maintained their superiority throughout the game to win by a score of 109-79.

This 30-point domination is a result of the improvements the Nordic nation has made to its game, as well as the poor performances from the men from across the English Channel.

In that win, there were two highlights, one of which was from their best player, Lauri Markkanen. The other was from 18-year-old Miikka Muurinen, who came off the bench as a substitute.

A few minutes in the 4th quarter with a 21-point lead in their hands, the young NBA prospect was getting important minutes. In one sequence, point guard Sasu Salin gathered a British air ball, dribbled forward, and found the teenager streaking towards the basket.

He sent the pass towards the power forward, who took one step inside the paint and jumped high, and with his outstretched hand, threw down a one-handed tomahawk slam dunk.

Basketball fans lose their minds watching Miika Muurinen dunk

To the uninitiated, such dunks are commonplace in the NBA, but a European teenager throwing down such dunks is a rare phenomenon. Most are known for their skill and slower style of play. That is why Miikka Muurinen left many stunned.

The 6′ 10″ star has received 13 offers from top D1 programs, including Duke, Michigan, NC State, and North Carolina. He is one of the top prospects heading into the 2026 class, and now, fans understand why.

The way he stretched his body to throw down this dunk screams elite athleticism. Fans were in a frenzy watching a European do this and took to social media to applaud. Check out examples of those reactions below:

Muurinen played a little more than 13 minutes and scored 6 points while grabbing 4 rebounds in that span. This is his first taste of top-tier basketball, and he is making the most of it.

However, he has to clean up the 4 personal fouls he committed in that time, as that will be a problem when he comes into the NBA in the next few years.

Lauri Markkanen proves his worth with electric performance at EuroBasket

Finland usually follows leading star Lauri Markkanen’s lead. He was electric in warm-up games and was his typical best in the first game against Sweden.

Lauri Markkanen scored 43 points in 23 minutes in EuroBasket 2025
Lauri Markkanen scored 43 points in 23 minutes in EuroBasket 2025 (Image via Ritmo NBA/X)

In this game, the 28-year-old took over from the start and put in a performance for the ages. He scored 43 points while grabbing 2 rebounds. What stunned fans was that he did all that in just 23 minutes.

The Utah Jazz star is one of the leading MVP candidates at EuroBasket, and if he continues to keep up this trend, he could lead Finland deep into the knockout stages of the tournament.

On the flip side, these performances could push the price up if someone wants to trade for the 7-foot-tall power forward. There is a reason why the Golden State Warriors wanted him last offseason.

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