Luka Garza

Luka H. Garza (born December 27, 1998) is an American-Bosnian professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League.

He also represents the Bosnian national team internationally.

He also dealt with a sprained ankle in January 2019.

In the NCAA Tournament, Garza had 20 points and seven rebounds to help Iowa upset Cincinnati.

He averaged 13.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Garza was named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media.

Garza scored 44 points, third-most in Iowa history, in a 103–91 loss to Michigan on December 6.

He followed this up with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 72–52 win over Minnesota and was named Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week.

In an 84–68 win against Iowa State on December 12, Garza had a tooth jarred loose after taking an elbow from teammate Joe Wieskamp.

Garza returned to the game and finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Garza played college basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes, where he was the consensus pick for national college player of the year for the 2020–21 season.

As a junior, he was named a consensus first-team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year.

Garza played for Maret School in his hometown of Washington, D.C.

Garza grew up in Reston, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. He learned to play basketball from his father, Frank, who played for Idaho.

Garza watched video tapes that his father collected of former National Basketball Association (NBA) post players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and attempted to recreate their moves.

He stood 6ft 7in as a freshman attending Maret School in Washington, D.C., but was not able to dunk a basketball until he was a sophomore.

In high school, Garza was coached by Chuck Driesell, son of Basketball Hall of Fame coach Lefty Driesell.

In his senior season, he averaged 24.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.

Garza led Maret to the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) title game and earned D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year honors.

He left as his school's all-time leading scorer, with 1,993 points.

He was a four-star recruit and chose to play college basketball for Iowa over offers from Georgetown, Georgia and Notre Dame, among others.

In his college debut versus Chicago State, Garza had 16 points.

He 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.

As a freshman, Garza averaged 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

Shortly before his sophomore season, Garza underwent surgery to remove a 9 lb cyst attached to his spleen.

Garza had 34 points and 12 rebounds in a 89–86 loss to Penn State on January 4, 2020.

He was named to the midseason watch lists for the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Oscar Robertson Trophy.

On February 13, Garza tallied 38 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in an 89–77 loss to Indiana.

At the close of the regular season, he was named the Big Ten Player of the Year.

He was then named National Player of the Year by the Sporting News.

Garza averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as a junior, earning consensus first-team All-American honors.

Following the season, Garza declared for the 2020 NBA draft.

On August 2, he announced he was withdrawing from the draft and returning to Iowa.

On November 27, Garza scored a Carver–Hawkeye Arena-record 41 points, including 36 in the first half, on 14-of-15 shooting while posting nine rebounds and three blocks in a 103–76 win over Southern.

He joined John Johnson as the only players in program history to record two 40-point games.

In his next game, on December 3, Garza scored 30 first-half points as part of a 35-point, 10-rebound performance in a 99–58 victory over Western Illinois.

On December 11, he posted 34 points and six three-pointers in a 105–77 win over Iowa State.

Garza scored his 2,000th point in a February 2, 2021, win over Michigan State.

On February 21, he recorded 23 points and 11 rebounds in a 74–68 victory over Penn State, surpassing Roy Marble to become Iowa's all-time leading scorer.

After a win over the #25 Wisconsin Badgers, athletic director Gary Barta announced that they would be retiring #55 for Garza.