Luka Garza is training for the best opportunity of his NBA career. With the Minnesota Timberwolves, he received minimal minutes behind players like Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid. Still, he showcased impressive offensive ability when he got on the floor.
"[He's a] stats darling, but in limited time behind very, very good players," Brad Stevens told this author earlier this summer while sharing what motivated the Boston Celtics to sign Garza.
As the 26-year-old center prepares for the chance to change his career trajectory, he's following the blueprint he gained from watching former teammates go from next to him on the bench to carving out their place in the NBA.
Luka Garza's defensive dedication
At a recent appearance at The Track at New Balance, located near Boston's practice facility, the Auerbach Center, Garza helped run a youth basketball clinic for the Jr. Celtics presented by New Balance. There, he shared what he has been focusing on this summer.
"That's definitely on the offensive side, extremely a focus for me," the four-year veteran voiced of his work from behind the arc and as a facilitator this offseason.
The former AP Player of the Year and John Wooden Award winner, while starring collegiately for the Iowa Hawkeyes is also well aware that the strides he makes on defense will play a significant role in his ability to capitalize on the opportunity in front of him.
"Every summer, there is a huge dedication to the defensive side of the ball and just maximizing what I can do on that side. I know the better I can get there, the better it's going to be for my career. So, continuing to work on my hands, my ability to drop, read, and just be a high-IQ guy on that end.
"And then also, in different switch attacks and being able to guard guys and kind of do the best that I can, to read angles and read personnel to give me the advantage on that side of the ball. So, you know, those are all things I work on."
It helps that Garza is joining a franchise with a strong track record in player development. It's an infrastructure that has helped bring the best out of players up and down the Celtics' roster.
Aiding Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as they became All-NBA talents, and their role in Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet going from undrafted to rotation fixtures are prime examples.
"The development staff here, you can already tell, is just extremely locked in and dialed," said Garza. "It definitely resonates with me and what I want to be a part of. So it's been a lot of fun."