Luka Garza Finds His Stride With the Boston Celtics
PHOTO: Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images
Luka Garza of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 3, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
For much of his NBA career, there were nights when Luka Garza (21BBA) just knew. Nights in Detroit and Minnesota when rotations tightened and minutes disappeared, when his only path to the floor came in the final possessions of a blowout. The former Iowa All-American, whose No. 55 jersey hangs in the Carver-Hawkeye Arena rafters, responded the only way he knew how. He worked.
“I’ve always felt like I’m different in the way I push myself to the limit as much as possible,” he says. “If I’m not playing, how can I get better? That was my mindset. How can I utilize my time the most?”
He turned the regular season into the offseason. Before practice, after practice, late at night, he hit the gym. Shots. Footwork. Conditioning. More shots. By the end of the 2024–25 season in Minnesota, Garza logged 42,000 shots, some 12,000 more than any other NBA player according to metrics tracked by Noah Basketball.
“They heard from other teams that I can be someone who is a culture raiser. That’s what they wanted.” —Luka Garza
He studied the league, searching for ways to fit—setting screens, crashing the glass, stretching the floor—anything that could help a team win. It was work that for five seasons went largely unrecognized until the Boston Celtics called this past offseason—and basketball wasn’t even part of the conversation.
“The thing they cared about most when we first talked was being able to add to the culture that they have,” says Garza. “They heard from other teams that I can be someone who is a culture raiser. That’s what they wanted.”
PHOTO: HAWKEYESPORTS.COM
Luka Garza earned the Naismith Trophy as college basketball's top player in 2021 at Iowa.
Boston signed Garza to a modest two-year contract in July 2025. Afterward, Celtics president Brad Stevens referred to his new big man as a “stats darling” with “unrealized potential.” Ten months later, Garza’s impact on the Celtics has far exceeded just helping the team’s culture. He’s now averaging a career-high 15.9 minutes and 7.7 points per game, a reflection of a role that, for the first time, is real.
“This league is about molding yourself into someone who can help a team win at a high level,” he says. “Obviously it took me a while and I grinded, but this season I’ve been able to figure that out.”
Even that doesn’t fully capture it. The year after Garza earned National Player of the Year honors at Iowa, the Detroit Pistons cut him. He pondered playing in Europe before former Iowa coach Fran McCaffery implored him to believe he was an NBA talent. While the work never wavered, a two-way contract with Minnesota and a successful stint with the Iowa Wolves of the G League restored his confidence. Now with the Celtics he’s thriving.
“You have to be in love with what you’re doing and how you’re going about it,” says Garza. “If you work for something and you love doing it, it doesn’t matter what the outcome is.”
It’s a mindset Iowa fans know well. The same one that made Garza a star in Iowa City. The same one that carried him through the quietest stretches of his NBA career. And that now is again being seen in Boston.