Luka H Garza was born on December 27,1998 and is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association, on a two-way contract with the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League.
26 Facts About Luka Garza
2.
Luka Garza grew up in Reston, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC He learned to play basketball from his father, Frank, who played for Idaho.
3.
Luka Garza watched video tapes that his father collected of former National Basketball Association post players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and attempted to recreate their moves.
4.
In high school, Luka Garza was coached by Chuck Driesell, son of Basketball Hall of Fame coach Lefty Driesell.
5.
Luka Garza led Maret to the District of Columbia State Athletic Association title game and earned DC Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
6.
Luka Garza left as his school's all-time leading scorer, with 1,993 points.
7.
Luka Garza was a four-star recruit and chose to play college basketball for Iowa over offers from Georgetown, Georgia and Notre Dame, among others.
8.
Luka Garza had his first double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds the following game in a win over Alabama State and was named Big Ten freshman of the week.
9.
Shortly before his sophomore season, Luka Garza underwent surgery to remove a nine-pound cyst attached to his spleen.
10.
Luka Garza dealt with a sprained ankle in January 2019.
11.
Luka Garza averaged 13.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore.
12.
Luka Garza was named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media.
13.
Luka Garza returned to the game and finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
14.
Luka Garza was named to the midseason watch lists for the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Oscar Robertson Trophy.
15.
Luka Garza was then named National Player of the Year by the Sporting News.
16.
Luka Garza averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as a junior, earning consensus first-team All-American honors.
17.
Luka Garza joined John Johnson as the only players in program history to record two 40-point games.
18.
Luka Garza scored his 2,000th point in a February 2,2021, win over Michigan State.
19.
At the close of the season, Luka Garza was again named Sporting News Player of the Year, becoming the first repeat winner since Michael Jordan in 1983 and 1984.
20.
Luka Garza averaged 24.1 points and 8.7 rebounds as a senior, and became the first player in Iowa men's basketball history to twice be named Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus first-team All-American.
21.
Luka Garza was selected with the 52nd overall pick by the Detroit Pistons in the 2021 NBA draft.
22.
In July 2022, Luka Garza joined the Portland Trail Blazers for the 2022 NBA Summer League.
23.
In September 2020, Luka Garza expressed his interest to represent the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team internationally.
24.
Luka Garza's father is of Spanish American origin, and his mother is from Bosnia and Herzegovina, of Bosniak origin.
25.
Luka Garza's maternal grandfather, Refik Muftic, was an accomplished association football goalkeeper, spending his entire career with FK Sarajevo.
26.
Luka Garza's mother is an executive assistant at the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Washington, DC.