 Garza withIowa in 2020 | |
| No. 52 – Boston Celtics | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1998-12-27)December 27, 1998 (age 27) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Nationality | American / Bosnian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 243 lb (110 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Maret School (Washington, D.C.) |
| College | Iowa (2017–2021) |
| NBA draft | 2021: 2nd round, 52nd overall pick |
| Drafted by | Detroit Pistons |
| Playing career | 2021–present |
| Career history | |
| 2021–2022 | Detroit Pistons |
| 2021–2022 | →Motor City Cruise |
| 2022–2025 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2022–2024 | →Iowa Wolves |
| 2025–present | Boston Celtics |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Luka Hudson Garza (born December 27, 1998) is a Bosnian-American professionalbasketball player for theBoston Celtics of theNational Basketball Association (NBA) and theBosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Garza playedcollege basketball for theIowa Hawkeyes, where he was the consensus pick fornational college player of the year for the2020–21 season. As a junior, Garza was named a consensus first-teamAll-American andBig Ten Player of the Year. He played forMaret School in his hometown ofWashington, D.C.
Garza grew up inReston, Virginia. He learned to play basketball from his father, Frank, who played forIdaho. Frank Garza isMexican-American. Garza watched video tapes that his father collected of former NBA post players likeKareem Abdul-Jabbar and attempted to recreate their moves.[1] His mother, Šejla Muftić, who is fromBosnia and Herzegovina, played professional basketball in Europe.[2]
Garza stood 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) as a freshman attendingMaret School in Washington, D.C., but was not able todunk a basketball until he was a sophomore.[1] In high school, Garza was coached byChuck Driesell, son ofBasketball Hall of Fame coachLefty Driesell.[3] As a senior, Garza averaged 24.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. He led Maret to theDistrict of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) title game and earned D.C.Gatorade Player of the Year honors.[4] Garza left as his school's all-time leading scorer, with 1,993 points.[5]
Garza was a four-starrecruit and chose to play college basketball forIowa over offers fromGeorgetown,Georgia andNotre Dame, among others.[6]
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Garza C | Washington, D.C. | Maret School (DC) | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Sep 10, 2016 | |
Recruit ratings:Rivals:  247Sports: ESPN: (83) | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Rivals: 111 247Sports: 105 ESPN: 100 | ||||||
Sources:
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In his college debut versusChicago State, Garza had 16 points. He had his first double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds the following game in a victory overAlabama State and was namedBig Ten freshman of the week.[7] As a freshman, Garza averaged 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.[8]
Shortly before his sophomore season, Garza underwent surgery to remove a nine-pound (4.1 kg)cyst attached to hisspleen.[9][10] He also dealt with a sprained ankle in January 2019.[8] In the NCAA Tournament, Garza had 20 points and seven rebounds to help Iowa upsetCincinnati.[3] He averaged 13.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore.[11] Garza was named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media.[12]
Garza scored 44 points, third-most in Iowa history, in a 103–91 loss toMichigan on December 6.[13] He followed this up with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 72–52 victory overMinnesota and was named Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week.[14] In an 84–68 victory overIowa State on December 12, Garza had a tooth jarred loose after taking an elbow from teammateJoe Wieskamp. Garza returned to the game and finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.[15] Garza had 34 points and 12 rebounds in a 89–86 loss toPenn State on January 4, 2020.[16] He was named to the midseason watch lists for theWooden Award,Naismith Trophy andOscar Robertson Trophy.[17][18] On February 13, Garza tallied 38 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in an 89–77 loss toIndiana.[19] At the end of the regular season, he was named theBig Ten Player of the Year.[20] Garza was then named National Player of the Year by theSporting News.[21] He averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as a junior, earning consensus first-teamAll-American honors.[22][23] Following the season, Garza declared for the2020 NBA draft.[24] On August 2, he announced he was withdrawing from the draft and returning to Iowa.[25]
On November 27, Garza scored aCarver–Hawkeye Arena-record 41 points, including 36 in the first half, on 14-of-15 shooting while posting nine rebounds and three blocks in a 103–76 victory overSouthern. He joinedJohn Johnson as the only players in program history to record two 40-point games.[26] On December 3, Garza scored 30 first-half points as part of a 35-point, 10-rebound performance in a 99–58 victory overWestern Illinois.[27] Eight days later, he posted 34 points and six three-pointers in a 105–77 victory overIowa State.[28] On February 2, 2021, Garza scored his 2,000th point in a victory overMichigan State.[29] On February 21, he recorded 23 points and 11 rebounds in a 74–68 victory overPenn State, surpassingRoy Marble to becomeIowa's all-time leading scorer.[30] After a win over the #25 Wisconsin Badgers, athletic director Gary Barta announced that they would be retiring #55 for Garza.[31]
At the close of the season, Garza was again namedSporting News Player of the Year, becoming the first repeat winner sinceMichael Jordan in 1983 and 1984.[32] He averaged 24.1 points and 8.7 rebounds as a senior,[33] and became the first player in Iowa men's basketball history to twice be namedBig Ten Player of the Year[34][35] andconsensus first-team All-American.[36]
Garza was selected with the 52nd overall pick by theDetroit Pistons in the2021 NBA draft.[37] After a standoutSummer League performance, he was signed to atwo-way contract by the Pistons and theirNBA G League affiliate, theMotor City Cruise.[38] On September 24, the team announced they had converted Garza's contract from a two-way to a standard deal.[39]
On October 23, Garza made his NBA debut, posting three points, two rebounds, two steals, and an assist across six minutes of play in a 97–82 loss to theChicago Bulls.[40][41] On November 23, Garza made his first career start, scoring seven points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field and 1-of-1 from three, in addition to three rebounds and two assists in a 100–92 loss to theMiami Heat.[42][43] On December 26, Garza scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 from three, to go along with six rebounds and two assists, before fouling out in a 144–109 blowout loss to theSan Antonio Spurs.[44][45] Six days later, Garza logged his first careerdouble-double with a career-high tying 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds across a career-high 40 minutes of action in a 117–116 win over the Spurs.[46][47] Together with teammatesHamidou Diallo andSaddiq Bey, they became the first trio in league history to register 20 points and 14 rebounds in the same game in over 40 years.[48][49]
On June 29, 2022, the Pistons declined their team option on Garza, making him a free agent.[50] Garza eventually joined thePortland Trail Blazers for the2022 NBA Summer League.[51]
On August 23, 2022, Garza signed with theMinnesota Timberwolves.[52] On October 15, the Timberwolves converted his deal to atwo-way contract.[53] Garza was named captain of Team Luka for the G League's inaugural Next Up Game for the 2022–23 season.[54] He was named the MVP of the game after leading his team to a 178–162 victory over TeamScoot, logging 23 points and eight rebounds.[55]
On July 3, 2023, Garza signed another two-way contract with the Timberwolves.[56]
On April 4, 2024, Garza's contract was converted to a standard NBA contract, dropping his two-way status and allowing him to play for the Timberwolves during the2024 NBA playoffs.[57] This came the day after a game against theToronto Raptors in which Garza scored 16 points in nine minutes, his then-season high.
On July 6, 2024, Garza re-signed with the Timberwolves.[58]
On July 7, 2025, Garza signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract with theBoston Celtics.[59][60]
In September 2020, Garza expressed his interest to represent theBosnia and Herzegovina national team internationally.[61] In December 2021, Garza told a reporter that he finished the process of obtaining dual citizenship.[62] He made his debut in August 2023 in an Olympic qualifiers game against Portugal, finishing the match with 15 points and 12 rebounds.[63]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | Detroit | 32 | 5 | 12.2 | .449 | .327 | .623 | 3.1 | .6 | .3 | .2 | 5.8 |
| 2022–23 | Minnesota | 28 | 0 | 8.7 | .543 | .359 | .788 | 2.3 | .6 | .1 | .1 | 6.5 |
| 2023–24 | Minnesota | 25 | 0 | 4.9 | .480 | .281 | .720 | 1.2 | .2 | .2 | .0 | 4.0 |
| 2024–25 | Minnesota | 39 | 0 | 5.6 | .495 | .278 | .686 | 1.4 | .3 | .2 | .1 | 3.5 |
| Career | 124 | 5 | 7.8 | .490 | .314 | .699 | 2.0 | .4 | .2 | .1 | 4.9 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Minnesota | 7 | 0 | 3.7 | .833 | .667 | .875 | .9 | .1 | .0 | .0 | 4.1 |
| 2025 | Minnesota | 5 | 0 | 3.6 | 1.000 | 1.000 | – | .6 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.6 |
| Career | 12 | 0 | 3.7 | .889 | .750 | .875 | .8 | .1 | .0 | .0 | 3.5 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Iowa | 33 | 26 | 21.7 | .557 | .348 | .681 | 6.4 | 1.1 | .3 | 1.0 | 12.1 |
| 2018–19 | Iowa | 32 | 30 | 23.7 | .531 | .292 | .804 | 4.5 | .9 | .3 | .5 | 13.1 |
| 2019–20 | Iowa | 31 | 31 | 32.0 | .542 | .358 | .651 | 9.8 | 1.2 | .8 | 1.8 | 23.9 |
| 2020–21 | Iowa | 31 | 31 | 31.5 | .553 | .440 | .709 | 8.7 | 1.7 | .7 | 1.6 | 24.1 |
| Career | 127 | 118 | 27.1 | .546 | .367 | .701 | 7.3 | 1.2 | .5 | 1.2 | 18.2 | |
Both of Garza's parents havebasketball experience: hisSpanish-American father, Frank Garza, played collegiately atIdaho, and hisBosniak mother, Šejla Muftić, played professionally in Europe. Garza's paternal grandfather, James Halm, played college basketball forHawaii. His maternal uncle through marriage,Teoman Alibegović, husband of his mother's sister Lejla Muftić, was at one point theall-time leading scorer for theSlovenia national basketball team.[64]Garza's cousinsAmar Alibegović, Mirza Alibegović, and Denis Alibegović are all professional basketball players in Europe. His maternal grandfather,Refik Muftić, was an accomplishedassociation football goalkeeper, spending most of his career withFK Sarajevo.[65]
Since 2022, Garza has been in a relationship with Victoria Vidi.[66]
Garza has earned unanimous consensus first-team All-America status for a second straight year as a result of being voted to All-America first teams by the NBAC, Sporting News, Associated Press, and United States Basketball Writers Association. Garza becomes the program's only repeat consensus All-America honoree.
· Basketball Reference