Luka Garza will always be remembered as one of the greatest college basketball players — ever. That’s regardless of where he gets taken (if at all he gets scooped up) in the 2021 NBA Draft. He spent four seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes and did impressive things for the Big Ten program with which he became an unstoppable and efficient offensive force. In his last year in college, Garza averaged 24.1 points on 55.3 FG%. Without him, the Hawkeyes wouldn’t be anywhere close to sniffing a spot among the best offenses in the nation, let alone being one of the best overall. (KenPom ranked the Hawkeyes as the third most efficient offense at the end of the 2020-21 NCAA season.)
Like many other prospects before him who were also big names collegiately, Luka Garza is viewed as a polarizing prospect who owns an unquestionably fantastic college resume but a highly susceptible future in the eyes of scouts. Whether it’s because of his lack of speed, limited mobility, indiscernible explosiveness, and fit in the current landscape of the NBA, there’s always something that keeps on weighing down his stock for the upcoming draft, so much so that you won’t see his name pop up on several mock drafts available.
But for all the negative attributes people keep on attaching to Luka Garza, what’s undeniable is that he’s a flat-out scorer with great NBA size. Surely, an NBA team with at least a mid or late second-round pick could use someone like Garza. With all that said, here are a couple of ideal landing spots for the Hawkeyes legend.
2. New York Knicks
The rumors flying around in Gotham these days include that of the Knicks’ draft picks being used to leverage a draft deal that would net them an elite point guard. Right now, New York has two picks in the first round and another pair in the second. Whether the Knicks try to trade their first-round picks or not, those are very unlikely to convey into a Luka Garza selection, as that would be quite a reach, a move they don’t have much risk threshold to make especially after the disappointing rookie season of Obi Toppin.
In the second round, the Knicks have the rights to No. 32 (via the Detroit Pistons) and No. 58 (via Philadelphia 76ers) picks. That 32nd spot might still be too early for the Knicks to feel comfortable getting Garza, but at No. 58, the floor-spacing center could turn out to be the biggest steal of the draft.
Luka Garza isn’t going to bring the defensive attributes the Knicks got in the 2020-21 season from big men Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson, plus they all still have Mitchell Robinson. But Garza will give New York a big man who can flat-out score, someone who could give the team’s center position a shot in the arm on offense as part of the second unit. The Knicks finished the 2020-21 regular season fourth-worst in center scoring. Noel and Gibson might not be brought back as both have expiring contracts, so the Knicks definitely has total control in preventing overcrowding in their frontcourt.
And so what if he’s slow? In Thibs’ first season as New York’s head coach, the Knicks were last in the league in pace and offensive possession length. If we’re talking about quickness in individual matchups, Garza’s case might have been a little bit more blown out of proportion.
Luka Garza unofficial NBA Combine Numbers: 11.9 seconds in the pro agility drill.
Faster than USC's Isaiah Mobley, Auburn's JT Thor and a few other big men.
Not sure how many people were expecting that from Garza.
— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) June 23, 2021
1. Dallas Mavericks
Having another Luka in Dallas sounds like a lot of fun for reasons within and beyond basketball sensibilities. First of all, a Luka Doncic-Luka Garza combo would be so easy to market for Dallas. Luka x Luka? I’m buying that shirt right away. But gimmicky marketing ideas aside, Garza could carve a niche in Dallas. Remember when the Mavs posted a historic offensive efficiency number during the 2019-20 NBA season? Well, Luka Garza just posted a 62.0 TS% in his last year with the Hawkeyes. Aware that he needs to develop a three in order to turn more heads in the NBA, Garza took 6.0 3-pointers per 100 possessions over his last two years in Iowa and made 2.4 of them for a 39.7 3FG%.
Via Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated:
“When I think about transitioning to the professional level, I have no doubt in my mind I’ll be able to make it,” Garza says. “I’m just gonna work as hard as I can and do whatever I can, whatever a team needs, to be successful. Whatever role that is, however I have to play … obviously, I play a lot in the post in college, and that’s something I love to do, but the game is kind of moving away from that in the NBA. I think I’m a good enough three-point threat to be able to score from the outside as well, and I’m just as confident in my outside game as I am in my inside game.”
Luka Doncic is going to love playing alongside Luka Garza as an additional weapon for the Slovenian playmaker. Garza is a sure-handed giant who rarely turns the ball over. Despite a high 27.9 USG% in his college career, Garza had limited his turnover rate to only 10.8 (30.4 USG%/8.9 TO% in his senior year). Garza also made 64.8% of his shots at the rim in his last college season off assists. With Boban Marjanovic set to become a free agent, the Mavs could replace him with Garza, who’s another efficiency beast with more polished offensive skills and longer range.
Now if only the Mavs can find a way to get a pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to use on Garza…
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