LAS VEGAS — When talking to Luka Garza, the Detroit Pistons rookie comes off as very self-aware. Since the organization drafted him with the 52nd pick two weeks ago, he has been open about addressing his weaknesses so he can last in the NBA.
A prolific scorer during his four years at Iowa, draft evaluators doubted that Garza would be able to defend at an NBA level. He lost nearly 30 pounds to address those concerns. he has also been clear he’s working to improve his lateral quickness. Ask him about any nearly aspect of his game or approach, and he’ll provide a thoughtful, in-depth answer.
So it was a surprise when, after Tuesday’s Summer League blowout loss to the Houston Rockets, Garza was unable to explain a shot he hit toward the end of the first quarter. After receiving the ball on the left block, he posted up his defender, spun and hit a one-legged fadeaway. It was reminiscence of Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki. Garza isn’t sure when he added it to his arsenal.
“When I get in the games, and the adrenaline’s pumping, I really don’t know,” Garza said. “I just play with energy. That’s just me, that’s who I am. I’m from the DMV — D.C.-Maryland-Virginia — that’s how we play. We score, we talk, we have energy. That’s who I am and I was the same way in college, same way in seventh grade. I’m always going to be that kind of player.”
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It’s a shot that he also hit on at least one occasion in college. Given that Garza’s nearly 7 feet tall, it’s a tough shot to defend.
It encapsulates where Garza is at this stage in his development. Offensively, he doesn’t have many holes in his game. He averaged 24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 44% from 3 as a senior. He’s Iowa’s all-time leading scorer, and has a gifted post game.
That was all on display on Tuesday, as he was Detroit’s second-leading scorer with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He knocked down one of two 3-point attempts, drew two fouls and cleaned up his teammate’s misses at the rim. It provided a needed boost for a Pistons team that has struggled to score through two Summer League games.
His defense hasn’t been quite as good, though. He denied Rockets rookie Alperen Sengun a poster dunk attempt by standing tall in the paint. But his weakness on defense isn’t his strength, but his mobility. NBA offenses will likely be able to make him a liability with their spacing, so he has challenged himself to become quicker laterally.
He also has to find the right balance between his quickness and strength. Few centers operate exclusively in the paint in today’s NBA, so Garza realizes his success will be defined by his comfort operating as a perimeter player.
“I knew translating to the NBA, there’s not as much posting up,” he said. “I was posting up 47% of the time in college. So I knew that’s not realistic in terms of the NBA game. I thought the slimmer me would be a better version. I knew I had a lot of confidence in the way I shoot the ball and how I can stretch the floor. I think that’s the reason I did it. Working with a dietician and a chef, wearing a waist trainer, doing all types of stuff. I ended up losing 27 pounds. I feel really good.
“Still trying to now work on some strength, get back some work muscle that I may have lost in that process and continuing to get stronger,” he continued. “But the whole point was to work on my footwork, my foot speed and try to get better in lateral movement situations because i know the better I am in that, the better my career will be.”
For now, his Dirk-esque moves are impressing his teammates in Vegas, and giving the Pistons a needed lift.
“He’s a confident guy, and that’s what we need,” Cade Cunningham said. “He’s so talented, he can get to pretty much any shot he wants to get to. Him playing with that confidence is what we like to see and what we need from him, and he brings a different spark with his energy whenever he’s getting things going. I loved to see that play. It was tough.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com Read more on the Detroit Pistons and sign up for our Pistons newsletter.