Consensus five-star recruit and potential 2027 first-round pick Miikka Muurinen has officially signed with Partizan Belgrade, per a team press release (Twitter link).
According to BasketNews, the Serbian EuroLeague club specified that it has signed Muurinen to a three-year contract.
Muurinen helped Finland achieve its best-ever result (fourth place) at EuroBasket 2025 earlier this month, receiving the tournament’s Rising Star award in the process. In eight games with the Finnish national team, he averaged 6.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 11.1 minutes per contest, shooting 14-of-16 on two-pointers (87.5%), 6-of-17 from long distance (35.3%), and 7-of-15 on free throws (46.7%).
Muurinen, who was the youngest player (he’s 18) competing at the tournament, has spent the past two years in the United States playing high school basketball and had originally been expected to return to AZ Compass for his senior season before a recent change of plans, as agent Teddy Archer told Jonathan Givony of Draft Express (Twitter link).
A 6’10” forward, Muurinen displayed an intriguing combination of length, agility and athleticism at EuroBasket, including several highlight reel dunks. He’s expected to be one of the top college recruits in 2026 if he elects to go that route, though it’s unclear if his new contract has an out clause.
Finnish outlet Salon Seudun Sanomat first reported that Muurinen had reached an agreement with Partizan. Muurinen’s mother, Jenni Laaksonen, recently told Ilta-Santomat her son grew up admiring the play style of Serbian teams as well as Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos.
Partizan Belgrade, also known as KK Partizan, features several former NBA players, including Jabari Parker, Sterling Brown, and German wing Isaac Bonga, among others.
So draft eligibility, any news? Kind of important.