Lauri Markkanen had an incredible game against the Knicks on Wednesday. He led the Bulls to a 122-119 double-overtime victory with 33 points and 10 rebounds. His duel with Kristaps Porzingis was a blast to watch and it was one of the highlights of an evening full of NBA games.
Markkanen also managed to tie NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki in a stat that sounds tailor made for someone like these two players. Markannen knocked in eight 3-pointers, matching Nowitzki's record for the most 3-pointers by a 7-footer in a single game. Talk about an exclusive class.
Lauri Markkanen has made 8 3-pt FG, tied for the most in a game by a 7-footer in NBA history (Dirk Nowitzki) pic.twitter.com/ia0v5j5ssk
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 11, 2018
This is another moment for Markkanen that highlights an impressive start to his career. The Bulls have been a bit of a surprise lately compared to how they played early in the season and Markkanen has been a big part of that. He's averaging 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 35 percent from 3-point range.
What's interesting about this stat, besides how many players it would include if everybody actually had an accurate listed height, is it could have a much larger class in the future. Big men shooting 3-pointers isn't a rarity anymore. This feels like a record that is destined to be broken. Will Markannen be the one to do it?