From a nine-pound cyst to NBA stardom: the relentless rise of Luka Garza
In short: Luka Garza’s journey to the NBA is defined by more than just his scoring prowess. Before becoming a consensus national player of the year, he overcame a massive abdominal surgery and refined his game by studying legends. His path from a high school prospect to a professional standout is truly unique.
Born in 1998, Luka Garza grew up in a household steeped in basketball culture. His father, Frank, played at Idaho, and his mother, Šejla Muftić, was a professional player in Europe. Garza honed his craft by obsessively watching tapes of NBA post players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, attempting to replicate their signature moves. This dedication was tested early; as a high school freshman, he stood 6'7" but could not yet dunk, a testament to the development required to reach his eventual collegiate and professional heights.
His collegiate career at Iowa was historic. As a junior, he was named the consensus national player of the year for the 2020–21 season, a feat he repeated as a senior—the first player to do so since Michael Jordan in 1984. His dominance was marked by becoming Iowa’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Roy Marble in 2021. This success came despite a significant health scare before his sophomore season, when he underwent surgery to remove a nine-pound cyst attached to his spleen, followed by a sprained ankle in 2019.
Garza’s professional trajectory has been equally persistent. Selected 52nd overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2021 NBA draft, he navigated the challenges of two-way contracts before finding a foothold with the Minnesota Timberwolves and eventually the Boston Celtics. Beyond his club career, he embraced his heritage by obtaining Bosnian-American dual citizenship, debuting for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team in 2023. His family tree is a tapestry of elite athletics, including a grandfather who played for Hawaii and an uncle, Teoman Alibegović, who once held the all-time scoring record for the Slovenia national team.
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