Luka Garza’s goals on two fronts: NBA rotation player and Bosnian Olympian

Luka Garza had doubts a year ago.

“When I was cut (by the Detroit Pistons last July), I lost a little belief in myself,” said the 2021 national men’s basketball Player of the Year at Iowa. “Doubt started creeping in. ‘Am I an NBA player?’

“This year, I know I’m an NBA player.”

It will be at least a few more weeks before Garza has resolution on where he’ll play next season, but it will be somewhere in the NBA. When the Minnesota Timberwolves were short-handed for a stretch in February, the 6-foot-11 Garza averaged 20.3 points in 18.3 minutes over a three-game stretch, capped by a 25-point game at Utah.

Garza is a restricted free agent. On June 29, the Timberwolves must tender him a qualifying offer if they want him back. Then, other teams would have the opportunity to match or top the offer.

But you don’t have to read between any lines to know he wants to return to Minnesota. He found a fit there after being a second-round draft pick of the Detroit Pistons in 2021 and shuttling between the Pistons and their G League affiliate. Detroit waived him after the season.

Garza went to the NBA Summer League with the Portland Trail Blazers, but wasn’t signed by them. Minnesota did sign him last Aug. 22, with no guarantees other than a training camp roster spot. The Wolves converted him to a two-way contract in October, and got a full season of seeing what he could do.

He played in 28 games for Minnesota, averaging 6.5 points. He was sent to the Wolves’ G League team in Des Moines on occasion. There, he played nine games and averaged a whopping 29.8 points and 9.2 rebounds.

He scored 47 points and had 15 rebounds in his final game with the Iowa Wolves, perhaps a permanent farewell to the developmental league.

“I gained a lot of confidence to be able to do that,” Garza said. “I wanted to show I could dominate in the G League and was able to so.

“I personally feel I found a home in Minnesota. I love playing for Coach (Chris) Finch. It’s a great system for what I bring to the table. I see room for improvement and potential.”

He’s Luka Garza, which means the quest never stops. This week, he’s working out in Atlanta. On June 16 (and again on June 30), he’ll hold a Luka Garza Academy basketball camp for third- through eighth-graders at Beyond Ball in Urbandale. He’ll have a camp for ninth- through 12th-graders there on July 1-2.

At the same site, he’ll have his first father/son basketball camp on Father’s Day weekend, June 17-18. Grandpas are welcome, too.

Starting July 23, Garza will go to camp with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national men’s basketball team in preparation for its Aug. 12-20 FIBA Pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Gliwice, Poland.

“I’m really excited about that,” Garza said. “It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. It’s finally official.”

Garza is American, but he is able to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina because his mother was born there. He has acquired dual U.S.-Bosnian citizenship.

“I’m 50 percent Bosnian,” he said. “I have a Bosnian passport. When I was kid I’d go over there for three months in the summer.

“My mother is from Sarajevo. She came over to the U.S. during the war in Bosnia.”

Sejla Garza, in fact, has been an executive assistant at the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Washington. She played professional basketball in Europe.

This fall, Luka Garza will go to his third NBA training camp, knowing much more about what it takes to make it in the league than when he arrived.

“You can come in thinking you’re as prepared as possible,” he said, “but experiencing it is when the learning starts.

“I’ve learned to enjoy the moment and be myself. If I play three minutes, six minutes, don’t worry about and be myself, be aggressive. My number one skill is creating offense.

“I’ve built momentum for next year. Now I want to be a consistent rotation guy.”

And perhaps next year, an Olympian.

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