Photo: Minnesota Timberwolves/Iowa Wolves
(Minneapolis, MN) -- The Minnesota Timberwolves NBA team has re-signed former Iowa Hawkeye basketball standout Luka Garza to a two-way contract.
The 6-10 forward completed his second season in the NBA, first in Minnesota where he appeared in 28 games, averaging 6.5 points on 54.3% shooting from the field, and 35.9% from three and 2.3 rebounds.
Garza was a fan favorite for the Wolves G League team, starting in 15 games for the Iowa Wolves this season. Garza averaged 30.7 points per game.
Garza was also chosen as a captain for the NBA G League Next Up Game, Garza led Team Luka to a 178-162 win over Team Scoot in Salt Lake City on Feb. 19 as part of the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend. He was named MVP after scoring 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting along with eight rebounds in 21:15 minutes of action.
Garza was Iowa’s all-time leading scorer (2,306 points), marking the seventh-highest scoring total in Big Ten history. Garza earned unanimous 2020-21 National Player of the Year honors after averaging 24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 31.6 minutes per game in 31 games during his final season. Additionally, he was named a two-time unanimous All-America First Team selection (2020-21 and 2019-20) and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year (2020-21 and 2019-20).
Garza was originally selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 52nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.