All about Finland's EuroBasket sensation Miikka Muurinen - NBA's next European star in the making

18-year-old Finnish high school basketball player Miikka Muurinen is taking the EuroBasket by storm with his phenomenal performance. The young Finnish star has managed to advance his national team to the knockout rounds of the competition, without even having played a minute of college football as of now.

But who is this young star - who fans are saying will be the next European star in the NBA? Let's find out!

Miikka Muurinen - Journey so far

Born on 4 March 2007, Miikka Muurinen hails from the Finnish town of Järvenpää, just outside of Helsinki. He was born to two basketball players - father Kimmo Muurinen, who played 153 games for the Finnish national team, and mother Jenni Laaksonen, who played college basketball for North Carolina and represented the Finnish women's national basketball team in 68 games.

And their son has taken up following their footsteps - making his debut with the Finnish senior national team when he was just 17 years old.

Muurinen started his basketball journey with the youth program of Beat Basket in his hometown. Then he moved to Spain to join Zentro Basket Madrid at 15, and finally left for the United States a year later in 2023. Currently, he plays for AZ Compass Prep in Arizona, USA, and has been scouted by top basketball college programs of the country, including Duke, Kansas, Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, the University of Connecticut, and UCLA.

Slim Jesus has taken over EuroBasket 2025

Standing at 6’10” with a wingspan of 7’2″, Miikka Muurinen has gotten the nickname of "Slim Jesus." Although his NBA dreams are yet to be realized, the youngster began his journey with the Finland national basketball team in 2023, with the FIBA U16 European Championship. He averaged 16.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in the competition, with Finland finishing 12th.

He then made his senior debut a year later, in an Olympic qualifying friendly against New Zealand, where Finland won 73–70. And now, at the EuroBasket 2025, he is the new guy on the block that everyone is talking about. He became a known face after Finland eliminated Serbia from the tournament, 92-86, sending NBA superstar Nikola Jokic and his team home early. As their journey in the EuroBasket continues, let's see where the team and Muurinen himself head next.Also Read: Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry serve style goals at US Open Final, his animated reactions steal the show