By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
MILAN, Italy – Luka Garza has been teased by European basketball since his early days, breathing the overseas side of the sport around his family. He’s the nephew of former Slovenian national team’s captain Teoman Alibegovic, whose sons are all European players: Mirza, Denis, and Amar.
Moreover, since the summer of 2023, he has officially represented Bosnia and Herzegovina on the International stage, making his first debut with the national team in the FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Poland-Estonia.
Getting some glimpses of it once again in Game 4 of the LBA Finals between Milan and Virtus Bologna, he has been getting more and more in touch with overseas basketball. Watching his cousin Amar Alibegovic finding the promotion with Trapani Shark in the Finals of the Italian second division on the same trip, he also found time last season to catch up with his action in Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana.
Filling some free time with basketball during his invite to Milan to attend the NBPA’s One Court Project, he had the first taste of competition between two established powerhouses. “It’s my first… I guess we can call it a EuroLeague game, with two EuroLeague teams. I love the environment and the style of basketball out here. It’s very fun to watch and there’s a great atmosphere”, he first told Eurohoops.
Somebody would love to see him not only attending these types of games on the sideline but directly on the court. “I absolutely agree”, he answered when asked if he believes his playing style is suitable for the EuroLeague or European basketball more generally. “The good thing about my game is that I’m able to adapt to different styles of basketball”, Luka Garza added.
Being able to emerge in a kind of game with “less spacing and more skills highlighted”, in which he would need to “create space on the floor”, the 25-year-old center believes he could take his game to another level embracing the overseas journey. “I definitely enjoy this kind of basketball as well. I think my game suits both here and in the NBA. But I’d be blessed to play in Europe”, he addressed.
A EuroLeague fan who would be open to moving overseas
Luka Garza hasn’t been the only NBA big man to come over to the Italian city to get more glimpses of the business side thanks to Bocconi University and NBPA. Sandro Mamukelashvili was also present in the stands of Unipol Forum to attend Game 3 of the LBA Finals and revealed to Eurohoops that he would like to return to Italy in the future.
Entering the summer as a restricted free agent after two seasons between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Iowa Wolves, in the same territory where he was once dominating in college with the Iowa Hawkeyes, he left the door open for a potentially life-changing move.
“There are so many great teams”, he answered when asked where he would like to move to in Europe. “I would love [to play] for anyone in the EuroLeague. When you see crowds like Partizan, Fenerbahce, and all these different teams with such environments. Even here in Milano“, he also said.
Generally speaking, Luka Garza would be open to joining any team in the EuroLeague, and not only. “There are so many great clubs. I can name literally all of them. Any of them would be a lot of fun. I’d be very grateful and blessed to be a part of any team in Europe”, the 25-year-old center shared.
Unlike other players who may move to Europe without knowing much of the sporting landscape, moreover, he’s a fan. He watched the EuroLeague Final Four, indeed. “It was an incredible atmosphere. Panathinaikos is a very well-coached team”, Luka Garza first commented on the pinnacle of European basketball.
The key, in his opinion, was bringing over a familiar face. “Kendrick Nunn is a guy who also is one of the best players in Europe. He’s a newcomer, but he can score the ball in any different type of way. Those are the guys who can thrive in Europe, the ones who can score”, the Bosnian-American player addressed.
Sharing national team duties with Dzanan Musa
Getting to know more about the Bosnian national team thanks to his cousins and Jusuf Nurkic, with whom he grew a solid relationship throughout the years in the NBA, he eventually made his debut with the Dragons last summer, putting up 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in his first tournament.
Despite not earning the right to fight for an Olympic spot this summer after losing to Poland in the final of the Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament, he enjoyed the experience alongside his Bosnian teammates, including Real Madrid‘s standout Dzanan Musa. “Only the beginning brate”, Luka Garza commented under the Bosnian forward’s Instagram post at the end of the competition.
The bond is there. “I love Dzanan [Musa]. He’s an incredible player, he could be a really good player in the NBA and he’s a superstar in the EuroLeague. He has done such a great job. Once he left Efes he went to another team in Spain [Rio Breogan] and then went to Real Madrid, growing up”, he recalled.
“That’s the type of dude he is, that’s the type of character he has. He’s one of the best players in Europe and I’m blessed to be able to play with him with Bosnia. I can’t wait for all the moments in the future of us playing together. We’re both 25-26, whatever how old we are. We have a long time to play with each other representing Bosnia, which is special for me”, he looked ahead to the future.
Talking about the future, it’s still unknown if Luka Garza will play his cards again in the NBA or will be moving to Europe, entering a new chapter of his life book. But wherever fate will bring him, he wants to take the same path. “I think for me I’d wanna be remembered no matter where I was that I stood out in terms of my work ethic and character”, he said.
Wanting to “bring positive energy” wherever he goes is the goal. “I’d like to do anything I could to help the team win, being it never about me and my personal individual statistics or whatever may be. Wherever the basketball takes me I’d be very grateful and I’d love to play there. It has taken me to so many amazing places, and I know in the future it will take me to many more”, Luka Garza ended.
PHOTO CREDIT: 2023 Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament