Move to Boston agreeing with former Hawkeye standout Luka Garza

DALLAS — Luka Garza has changed teams before, going from Detroit, which drafted him in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft and where he played through 2022, to Minnesota, where he played from 2022 through 2025. However, his latest move to Boston, who he signed with last summer, has been different but in a good way.

The main reason is that Garza, 27, a two-time Big Ten Conference Player of the Year as a Hawkeye (2017-2021), is getting steady minutes for the first time in his NBA career. Through Feb. 6, he had already appeared in 42 games and was averaging 8.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists while averaging 17.1 minutes, all career-highs.

He credits that uptick in minutes this season, his fourth in the Association, to the positive influence of fourth-year Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who led Boston to an NBA title in 2024, in just his second season as an NBA head coach.

“I love his intensity. I love the mindset he has every single day,” Garza said of Mazzulla before a 110-100 road win on Feb. 3 in Dallas. “He’s just unapologetically himself every single day and he pushes you. In the league, I haven’t had a coach who has pushed me in that way. That shows that he believes in me and that’s a great feeling to have a championship coach think that way of yourself. I just try to show up every day and do my job to the best of my ability, hear what he has to say and continue to work on those things and improve.”

Against Dallas on the front end of a back-to-back, Garza had 16 points, tying his season-high on an efficient 6-for-8 shooting and four rebounds. The following night in Houston, he topped that with a season-high 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting, further proof that when he gets a chance to play steady minutes in Boston, he produces.

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Another big difference this season is that unlike his previous stops with the Pistons and Timberwolves, he is no longer dividing his time between the NBA G League and the NBA. However, Luka realizes that experience gained in the G League was integral in his development and helping prepare him to capitalize on opportunities for consistent NBA minutes when they materialized.

“I just learned a lot (at my previous two stops). Through time and experience in this league, you learn,” Garza said. “Me, more often than not being a guy who was outside the rotation looking in and staying ready for that opportunity. Over time, I learned how to do that and that translated well this year. I lost my spot in the rotation for a couple of games this year and when I got that chance again, I was ready to go. That’s because of all the preparation and work I’ve done these years, learning how to be ready in those moments.”

Of course, Iowa fans still remember him fondly from his four seasons in Iowa City under now-former Hawkeye head coach Fran McCaffery, who is now at Penn. And like many who played for him, he admits it’s still jarring to turn on an Iowa game and not see Coach Fran on the sidelines.

“Yeah, absolutely (it’s weird). Turning the TV on to see the Hawkeyes, it’s definitely different but they’ve been doing a great job this year,” Garza said. “It’s been exciting. “I would like to watch more than I have, but I know (Bennett) Stirtz is a stud. He’s been playing well. I got to tune in (Feb. 1) when they beat Oregon, the team looked good. It’s a different team obviously. They play in a different way than we did, but they’ve had some success and I want to see it continue to roll. Hopefully they can make a run in March.”

Along with Keegan and Kris Murray, who both play in the NBA’s Western Conference for Sacramento and Portland, respectively, he’s honored to be one of three former Hawkeyes currently playing in the NBA. “It (seeing them also in the league) has been awesome. For us coming into Iowa and developing the way that we did, a credit to Fran, his staff, and what we were able to experience and continue to work on,” Garza said.

“It’s awesome to see all of us continue to improve in the league. Keegan has been incredible and Kris has continued to work and develop himself into a great defender who can do a lot of different things, very versatile. It’s awesome to see, especially the different roles that we had in college that were adjusting our games to the league. It’s fun to see them succeed.”

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Earlier this year, he got to face both Murray brothers in a span of a few days as the C’s played at Portland on Dec. 28 (a 114-108 loss) and were in Sacramento (a 120-106 win) a few days later on Jan. 1.

“It’s awesome. Early in the year, we got to play against Sacramento and Keegan was playing. He missed the last game (we played them with an injury),” Garza said. “It’s just fun to compete with him out there. It just brings back memories of practice and those guys coming in. It’s special what they’ve been able to accomplish and it’s cool that I was able to be with them for part of that.”

After biding his time in his first three seasons in the NBA to find consistent minutes, former Iowa Hawkeye star Luka Garza has landed in an ideal situation in Boston, under a great coach in Mazzulla. He’s also playing for one of the top organizations in the Association and couldn’t be happier.

“It’s been incredible,” Garza said of his time in Boston thus far. “Just getting the opportunity to get out there and play and show what I can do consistently in a rotation, that’s just been a blessing to come here and have that kind of opportunity.”

Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas