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Watching Serbia- Finland right now in Eurobasket, is it just me or this kid doesn't get enough attention? he looks like a real athletic freak with tons of potential. 6'9" with long arms, really bouncy, super competitive, can handle the ball. Very high upside. Only 18 years old. First time I'm watching him in live game and he reminds me of a more athletic-more competitive version of Andrei Kirilenko at his age.

I think comparing to Kirilenko is always dangerous, he was an incredible athlete with insane measurables. I think Mikka has some attention, but I bet a lot of places have him in the 2027 draft. I think Cammo (mock draft forum) has had him lottery for a few months. I am interested in what I have seen so far, but have not seen enough to feel really strongly about him yet.

Hypothetically, Miikka is going to be eligible for the very next NBA draft, the 2026 NBA draft following next season.

Does anyone know why the projection is for 2027?

Caneman786 wrote:Hypothetically, Miikka is going to be eligible for the very next NBA draft, the 2026 NBA draft following next season.

Does anyone know why the projection is for 2027?

I think everyone is guessing which college freshman are going to choose to stay for NIL by which guys are more raw. Muurinen looks like he needs quite a bit of physical development compared to some of the guys up top, so I could see - if he is not an absolute standout - him deciding to bank the NIL and going into the 2027 draft where he has a chance to go quite a bit higher considering the perceived (as of this moment) steep dropoff in talent. If you told me he went #1 in 2027 I would not find it shocking as of this moment (we will see when he actually hits college).

Jan Vesely'ish. I need evidence he can shoot or has a legit handle. I have not seen it.

Dat2U wrote:Jan Vesely'ish. I need evidence he can shoot or has a legit handle. I have not seen it.

He can knock down the open three, hitting two vs. Serbia and one against Georgia (50% in these two games from three). He is shooting over 90% from 2pt fg% in the tournament, granted most being highlight dunks. Hard to say how good he can eventually be, but I think Jan Vesely comp is not a good one. I believe Muurinen is much much more of an athlete and has much higher ceiling than Vesely ever had.

He is skipping his last year of HS and is most likely going overseas for one year before entering the draft.
Skipping HS is a good decision, dude is already 18. But not sure if going to Partizan, as rumoured, would be a good decision. Its a good team with ambitions in the Euroleague, they are not gonna play a 18 year old prospect the way that Muurinen would need one year before the draft.

Muurinen to Partizan confirmed.