Luka Garza (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Five years ago, Luka Garza was on top of the college basketball world as a consensus All-American and a two-time Men’s National Player of the Year. As a senior with the Iowa Hawkeyes, he and his team were preparing to take on upset-minded Grand Canyon in Indianapolis to tip off the NCAA Tournament.
The Hawkeyes won that game 86-74, then lost to Oregon in the second round, marking the end of Garza’s illustrious collegiate career. Iowa didn’t reach the heights the program aspired to in his time spent there, but between the records, accolades, and accomplishments, he looks back on those days of the Fran McCaffery era fondly.
“I think they’re just memories you’re going to have for a lifetime,” Garza told RG in an exclusive interview. “Especially the experience of being in one place for four years and kind of growing and developing relationships with obviously teammates, but coaches, and just people around campus and stuff like that. So, they’re memories I hold really dear.
“I mean, a lot of big moments. Obviously, college became weird with COVID and all that, but I think it almost brought our team closer. We just spent a lot more time with each other. Definitely some of the most fun moments of my life.”
Garza is one of nine players in Iowa men’s hoops history to have his jersey number retired, and for good reason. He holds the record for the most points (2,306) and offensive rebounds (342), as well as the highest field-goal percentage (54.6%) in the Hawkeyes’ books.
It was a place where he matured as a player and a person, staying in the same place that got him to the dance. The NCAA’s transfer portal criteria were modified when Garza was on the way out of Iowa, and Name, Image, and Likeness rules were introduced just months after he graduated. So, for him and the class of 2021, it’s almost as if it were the last of an era.
But that amount of growth and development in that span is something he’s applied to his winding, twisting NBA career, and it has ultimately helped him land with the championship-contending Boston Celtics.
“I can’t speak for everyone else’s personal situation. But for me, people ask me all the time if I wish I played in this era to make money in college, and I’m kind of glad I didn’t have to have that choice or have to think about transferring,” Garza said.
“I think what got me to where I am today is my ability to develop within a system, and over four years playing for Fran, and as he taught me, just kind of guided me through that. I think every year I took a step and got better and better.
“We sucked my freshman year. I averaged 12 a game. A lot of people at that point in time, especially now, probably would’ve hopped into the transfer portal and transferred, whereas I stayed and kind of got better, had a little bit more of a role, and then obviously my junior year was when everything kind of changed for me. But would that have happened somewhere else? You never know. “
Playing His Part
Nowadays, as his Hawkeyes get set for March Madness, Garza is enjoying his most successful individual pro season with the Celtics, who are picking up steam and readying for the NBA Playoffs in a month. In a career-high 59 games played, the fifth-year big man is averaging 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds on 68.0% True Shooting, all personal bests.
Garza’s brought a lot of pop coming off Joe Mazzulla’s bench, whether it’s been in high pick-and-roll and hand-offs, providing extra possessions, or knocking down the three-ball at a 43.6% clip. Albeit not the high-usage, offensive machine he was with Iowa, this is a productive version he’s proud of, and it’s helped Boston win.
“Every summer, I dedicate myself, and even during the season, to improving myself, especially in the seasons where I didn’t play as much,” Garza said. “That’s my main focus: getting better. I think, especially in the NBA, you’ve got to be able to adapt and change your game or mold it to find a way to have an impact on great teams.
“So for me, that impact is a little different than it was in college. Not playing as much back to the basket, not having the ball in my hands every possession like I did. But I think I’ve found ways to be extremely effective through screening, through offensive rebounding, and through scoring when the ball is in my hands in different moments. Picking and popping, shooting, stretching the floor. Adding the slow step, other stuff into my game has really helped me. And so, yeah, I definitely developed, and I’m a lot better than I was back then.”
It has been anything but easy for Garza to get to this point.
The Detroit Pistons drafted him in 2021 with the No. 52 pick late in the second round and threw him into the fire early as a two-way contract player. After a season with them, the Minnesota Timberwolves inked him to the same deal after 2022 training camp.
Garza wrecked shop with the Iowa Wolves that year, averaging 30.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists as a G League All-Star. He spent two campaigns with Minnesota’s organization under those two-way terms before his contract was converted to a standard one in July 2024. After his third campaign with them came to a close last offseason, the Celtics brought him in.
Finally, being a significant piece to a group aspiring to go all the way, Garza’s current situation is a testament to his hard work and belief.
“It’s been incredible,” Garza said. “Obviously, this season has been the most opportunity I’ve had in my NBA career so far, but I think all the years before that kind of prepared me for this, just learning how to stay ready at all costs and then extreme situations. There were times in Minnesota, I did play the first 40 games a year, and then someone would go down, or whatever would happen, I’d have 10 games in a rotation.
“So that kind of built my mindset to be prepared and ready. And then obviously, coming here with the opportunity I had, I knew I had to take advantage of it. I was excited for it. I wanted the ability to have a runway and be able to go out there and play my game. I’ve been patient for a long time, just kind of waiting and grinding and doing all the right things, and that pays off over time.”
Why The Celtics Click
Standing at 46-23 as the second seed in the Eastern Conference, Boston knew it would be depending on players like Garza and his young teammates to step up and help mainstays like Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Sam Hauser before the year started.
Between trading two starters to shed salary and a major injury to Jayson Tatum, many on the outside chalked 2025-26 as a gap year for the Celtics. Not anybody in that locker room, though.
“It’s a cool team to be a part of, especially when we have so many guys that were kind of unproven at the start of this year,” Garza said.
“So we all had a mindset, not only just individually to do that, but also collectively to show that we could prove ourselves through winning, and winning at a high level.
“And so, I think, that’s been pretty special being part of this group. And then now, obviously, bringing back one of the best players in the world, it’s exciting for all of us to continue to kinda go on this run and figure out how we can be as good as we can.”
Garza credits Boston’s coaching staff for getting the most out of the guys. It’s easy to look at him, Neemias Queta, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, and Jordan Walsh as prime examples of what it takes to stay ready so they don’t have to get ready.
“We do have a lot of great coaches who understand the game at a high level and push us in the right ways and kinda put you in a good spot,” Garza said. “I think that’s helped. They put us out there.
“But at the end of the day, all of us are just guys who’ve worked hard our entire careers and wanted the chance to show it, but haven’t necessarily had the opportunity to. And so, when that time comes, luck, opportunity, timing, that’s a recipe for success.”
Because there is always a numbers game, rotations will shorten in the playoffs. That may mean fewer minutes or responsibilities. But Garza and Boston’s youth have done their job by giving the Celtics a shot at this thing, playing the right way, and accepting the challenge down bodies.
So, no matter how it shakes out, Garza is certain that he can help the Celtics when his name is called in the postseason – just as he has been.
“No.1, just my energy as I go into the game,” Garza said.
“I think being able to go in a game and change the energy of it is an important thing. I think the ways I do that are through my screening, most importantly, getting guys open, getting guys to their spots.
“Especially when you have players who are guarded the way they are, talking about the ball handlers we have, and so being able to create advantages for them, which in turn creates advantages for everyone else, including me. And then also, just kinda my offensive rebounding, rebounding in general, and just my overall IQ.”
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