Picturing the Chicago Bulls as “Game of Thrones” characters

Lauri Markkanen — Arya Stark

Although small in stature, Arya Stark brings many big things to the table worthy of a comparison to the 7-foot tall Lauri Markkanen. Growing up, Arya rejected the notion of all things lady-like in favor of hopefully one day becoming a knight. Likewise, Markkanen opted to help pioneer the growing sport of basketball instead of playing Finland’s more dominant sports, ice hockey and football.

After escaping the jaws of the golden lions, Arya embarked on a journey to the free city of Braavos. While there, Arya commenced training with the mysterious band of mercenaries known as the Faceless Men. Her training overseas helped develop the skills necessary to overcome even the most impossible of odds. Meanwhile, Lauri’s time spent playing with the Finnish national team helped develop his sense of team basketball and complex offensive scheme.

As avid fans of Thrones will surely be able to attest, the only person quite as liable to deliver a surprise dagger to the enemy like Arya would be Markkanen. Her entire life, Arya was underestimated by her foes. Markkanen can likely relate to this sentiment, as many scouts and media talking heads wrote him off heading into the 2017 NBA Draft, including the infamous F+ grade from NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor.

With the latest episode of Thrones spawning the hilarious “Air Arya” concept, Bulls fan are likely to endorse Arya for the iron throne the same way they’ll be campaigning for Lauri to the All-Star game (conveniently in Chicago) next year.