November 19, 2025 • 19 mins
Luka Garza grew up an East Coast guy, and after eight years in the Midwest, is excited to be back after signing with the Boston Celtics this past offseason. He explains what separated the Celtics from other potential suiters in free agency, including the fact that some members of Boston’s front office still remembered his pre-Draft workout from 2021. Garza also dives into the astonishing lineage of athletic success in his family, and opens up about a life-threatening surgery he underwent heading into his sophomore year of college that led to a 10-pound cyst being removed from his abdomen.
00:15: Living in downtown and settling into Boston
02:10: On the drivers in Boston
03:00: The Celtics have had an eye on Garza for a while
05:50: Attractiveness of the Celtics’ player development program and what sets it apart
09:10: On the developing chemistry of the new frontcourt with Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman
11:50: The astonishing lineage of athletic success in his family, dating back decades
16:05: Reliving a life-threating surgery that led to a 10-pound cyst being removed from his abdomen
00:15: Living in downtown and settling into Boston
02:10: On the drivers in Boston
03:00: The Celtics have had an eye on Garza for a while
05:50: Attractiveness of the Celtics’ player development program and what sets it apart
09:10: On the developing chemistry of the new frontcourt with Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman
11:50: The astonishing lineage of athletic success in his family, dating back decades
16:05: Reliving a life-threating surgery that led to a 10-pound cyst being removed from his abdomen
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
All right, one of Boston's newest big man, Luca Garza,
is in the house today. Meet View from the Rafters,
View from the Rafters, Meet Luca Garza. We appreciate it
coming on today. What's it been like just settling into Boston, man,
we were just talking before we started recording. You're living
downtown in that area. How you enjoying it.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I'm loving I love the city.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
You're not going to tell the people exactly, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Exactly, I'll give them my address, right Yeah, But you know,
I'm from Washington, d C. So im from the East Coast,
so it's kind of really nice to get back to
the East Coast. You know, I spent the last eight
years of my life in the Midwest, so I love
the Midwest. But you know, I'm an East Coast guy,
so it's nice to get back in a big city
and already just to food, the people and obviously.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
The team in the organization, it's just been it's been amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
You mentioned food. You gotta tell us, like, what's the food?
What's the go to so far?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Oh, there's a lot of spots. There's a lot of spots,
I'd say right now, probably my favorite spot is Low
the forty two.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, all right there last night.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I'm not a big sushi guy, so I can't join
this conversation.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Yeah, what is the transition like for you? You don't
like sushi?
Speaker 1 (01:10):
No, I'm not a sushi guy. I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
We got other off.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
We'll cook the fish for your.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I can't eat raw foods. I just but okay, maybe
I'll do for you. Maybe I'll go and I'll get
some cooked sushi there. All right, all right?
Speaker 4 (01:24):
What is the transition now that you've done it a
few times? Coming into a new city, kind of trying
to get the lay of the land, figuring out where's
the best place to be relative to the practice facility
versus the arena, and just kind of finding your way.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yeah, for sure. I mean I think when you're younger
in the league, it's a little different than you know.
Now this is year five for me, so I've kind
of like earned a level up.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I've always kind of lived right by the practice facility
and kind of prioritized that. But now that I've gotten
older and older and just kind of, you know, want
to enjoy the city, especially when I'm moving somewhere new,
you know, I wanted to be you know, I wanted
to be in it and be in the city. And
you know, moving here by myself too, so uh you
know that made it. Uh you know that made it cool.
And you know it's still nice. Nice drive here, and
(02:05):
and I can get here anytime.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
So nice drive here. You probably hit some like weird
intersections in the roundabout.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
The driving here had a little strange. I can't understand
some of it.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
It was definitely built by the Europeans when they came over.
It doesn't make much.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Well, I mean no, if that's the drivers too, It's
like everyone else just wants to leave their car in
the middle of the road and put the lights on.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I think that's okay. I don't I don't understand. I
have to go around.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I don't know about that.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
I take on a Joe Missoula mentality when I'm driving,
and it's like take no prisoners, create chaos, like warm morality.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Let's stay away from the abbey.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Yeah, yeah, you got to be aggressive out there.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
It's true. You can get bullied out there real quick. Yeah.
I've been in the Midwest too long. I was driving
and being too nice.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
People are like you you shouldn't have to stop signed
for an hour because the people are just running right
through it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
So when you talk about being here, obviously we just
talked about like moving into the city, but orizationally, like,
what are you noticing that are some differences here after
being here for a good chunk of time now, like
differences here to what you've experienced so far in your
first two organizations you were with Detroit and Minnesota. For
those of you who don't know.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yeah, first I'd say just expectation. You know, when you
walk in in the practice and you see all the banners,
you know that that just carries a message in itself
of just what, you know, what needs to happen here,
and it's to win. So I think this is, you know,
probably the first organization that's had that kind of expectation.
And I mean obviously it's you know, the most championships
in the NBA, so you know, it's the only organization
(03:32):
that's going to be like that at that level. So
that's number one. But I think from the top down,
it's just there's so many incredible people, and you know,
it's it's it's a lot different in many different ways.
And I think just the way Joe is the way
he communicates, and you know the details that are kind
of put into motion here, and you know, obviously with
Brad and his you know beliefs and you know how
(03:53):
everything goes. It's just it's a cool mix that they
have going on.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Brad has mentioned and you talked about it too, just
he's had his eye on you. He's watched you and
your career pretty closely. I mean even from the college game.
What were those conversations with him, like and why did
you want to come to Boston?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yeah, I mean I think it's interesting. You know, people
always tell you that every moment matters. You know, I
had a draft work out here and you know, interviews
and different things like that, and you know, it was
one of many, and I didn't think too much of it,
didn't hear much from Boston on draft night. But you know,
here you come four years later, and you know some
of those some of those meetings, some of those interviews
meant a lot more than you know, even I thought
in the moment.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
So he brought those up to you.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
I think everyone kind of talked about I had a
couple of people come talk to me about my workout
and stuff.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Like that.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
So that was that was interesting. You know, I think
Brad had watched me even before that, and uh, you
know had his eye on me in college as well,
and then just kind of seeing you know how I
you know, approached every single opportunity you know, going through
in Minnesota and even in Detroit. But you know, those
initial conversations for me, it was, you know, the chance
to come here and play for this franchise, but also
the opportunity that was here was something that I haven't
(05:00):
had in my career yet. You know, I've been fortunately
been on to be on really really good teams, but
especially with a lot of great big men and you know,
loaded front courts, so I've kind of been behind, uh,
you know, the eight ball in terms of opportunities to
play as much. So uh, you know that was a
priority for me when I had the chance to go
into free agency, was you know, finding a place that
you know has a belief in me and and a
(05:21):
plan in place, but also an opportunity. You know, I
wanted to get on the floor and show what I
can do consistently. And I think they you know, that's
something they were talking about from day one, was that
you know, we've we've seen you know, what you can
do in pieces and at different points. You know, we
love the mentality you bring. And I think they wanted
me to add to the culture, the championship culture that's
been here. I think there's been so many amazing guys
(05:42):
and examples of guys that come in with the right
mindset every single day. And I knew I could, I
could shoulder that and be that because that's you know,
who I am in general. So I knew I had
that part taking care of. But you know, it was
definitely a priority to be able to get on the floor.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
When you talk about those other guys that have kind
of like set the example here. One guy who stands
out who's now in San Antonio is Luke Cornette, right
like he came in here as I think he might
have been Exhibit ten or definitely a two way at times,
and then now he goes through this development program, winds
up with a pretty significant contract out in San Antonio.
As you went into free agency and you started talking here,
(06:21):
was that in your mind at all of like seeing
someone like that, a big man come through this development
program and turn into what he is now, Like, is
that something you as a free agent, think about.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
And as a as a person, as a player, I'm
always looking towards example of people who do it the
right way and kind of go through that grind of
you know, being in the G League and you know,
make that example for me and kind of lead the path.
And you know, I think I had a couple of
great examples in Minnesota with Nasri, guys like Nasried and
Nikhil Alexander Walker who were G League guys, or Nikhil
who was kind of on his last you know leg
(06:51):
with Utah and getting traded in Minnesota, and you know,
at that point of his career he was in a
little bit of a limbo, but he took advantage of
the opportunity and obviously just got paid this summer and
you know, we'll never go back to that that point
he was at. And you know, I think Luke Corner
has another great example. Guy who was in the league, uh,
you know, played for a lot of good teams, but
then kind of you know, how to work his way
through the g LEI to get back into the league,
(07:12):
and you know, obviously just he's a great example of
how he carried himself and Obviously, the people you know
love him here, and you know, he's just he was
a smart IQ guy, and so I think there's a
lot of similarities that I see in terms of just
the way he approached the game. Obviously we're different in
a lot of ways as well, But I think, you know,
that's anytime I can look an example like that and
see that, you know, for me, it just means that
(07:32):
it's possible for me too. And that's something you know
that I embody and bring into in with me every
single time I, you know, I walk on a court
is knowing that if I take advantage of this opportunity,
that I can continue to develop and put myself in
a great position.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I guess I guess what I'm getting at is like,
not necessarily like the people that you've seen take those
steps from where they were to where they are now,
but like this particular development program has produced that for sure,
Like does how much do you and your agent kind
of talk about that stuff? Because Luke's not the only one,
Sam Houser, Like, there's a pretty long list of guys.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I mean sure, I mean this organization has built so
many guys from that you know, from the G League
and just building him up over time, or picking guys
that you know, they bring in that you know kind
of weren't uh, you know, coveted free agents, and then
kind of turning him into you know, guys that go
in to free agency as like a huge target. And
so I think, you know, that's all you know based
on you know, their development plan, what they do. And
(08:25):
I knew that as soon as I got here, just
you know, working with Coach d Mac and Coach Craig
and you know the development staff here, you know right
away just they had a plan for me, and you know,
they this is what we see you as we see
you can be. These are the areas you can improve on.
And for me, that's just that's absolutely what I want,
just knowing you know that there's a plan in place,
but also that they have, you know, idea suggestions, all
(08:47):
this kind of stuff, and they're going to push me
and put me in the best position possible. And I think,
you know, the thing that you know is different about
here is I think different organizations sometimes you won't get
put in the best positions, especially if you're not a
priority guy. But I think here, no matter who you are,
one through eighteen when you get on the court, you're
going to be put in the best position possible for you.
You know, you're not just fitting into a mold of
(09:08):
another player. And that's one difference that I've noticed here
that I haven't really experienced in any other place in
my career.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
That's cool to hear.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
But you and that entire group in the front court
largely unproven, but you guys are putting in the work
as well. To a man, you guys came in early,
I mean some as really as August and have been
working together to get the most out of those opportunities
once you're on the floor. How unique is that and
how has it been developing that chemistry with that group?
Speaker 3 (09:36):
It's been awesome, I think for us three. You know,
we're all at kind of similar points in our career.
You know, guys that have made the most of a
lot of opportunities but haven't gotten consistent opportunities at the
level that we want to. And so we all have
a big chip on our shoulder and a lot of
motivation and we come in every single day with an
approach in a mindset that you know, we want to
show that we can be you know, a front court
(09:56):
that can be among the best, and that we can
you know, anchor the paint. We can get our teammates
involved with screening and and different things like that, and
then obviously show our individual ways of how we can
impact the game. And you know, all of us bring
different things to the table, and I think we embrace
those things and you know, kind of uplift each other
to make sure that we all all are going towards
the common goal, and that's winning. And I think that's
(10:17):
the thing that's emphasized here in this organization so much
is that, you know, team success is you know, what
brings the individual success for every single person. And so
you know, that's been a lot of fun, you know,
and also you know, they're they're great guys too. You know,
he'saving me. Have been going at it since high school
and and you know m b p a Top one
hundred camp and at the University of Virginia. You know,
(10:39):
it was probably the first time I matched up against him,
but seeing him in AAU and the e YbO then
at Machine State, just battling with him, you know. But
you know, he's one of the one of my you know,
favorite competitors guys. I've ever been against and Neem is
the same way too. You know, we probably haven't matched
up each other as much as me and X, but
anytime I got the chance to get on the on
the court and go against him, I've loved that that
(11:01):
competitive spirit he has and the energy brings to the game.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
How much pressure are you guys feeling to be that
for this team considering the losses and the changes that
the Celtics went through this summer.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
You know, I think a lot of the pressure goes
away when you spend years kind of waiting for that opportunity.
You know, we've been chomping at the bit to get
out there and get on the floor and watching guys
in front of us, knowing that we can help impact,
knowing that we can help impact winning every single night
and not getting the chance to. I think that removes
a lot of the pressure, just knowing that we're going
to get out there and do it and you know,
perform at the level that we know we can and
(11:35):
just have a high level of motivation and energy every
single time we step on the court and use that
use that chip on our shoulder that we know that
you know, this is this is an opportunity of a
lifetime for all three of us, and so we're going
to make sure that we take advantage of it. And
you know, with that, it's it's hard to feel the pressure.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
That's that's impressive that you cannot feel the pressure in Boston. Yeah,
that's impressive. We'll see if that stays the whole way.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
I mean, you do have an upbringing in your family
where there is a championship mentality and there is a
level to say.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
It's like you.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Mentioned, yes, a standard that is required just to kind
of show up to Thanksgiving right on.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Percent, you must be a D one athlete or a
professional athlete. Like how many is it? Like eight or
nine family members were either D one or pro in
some sport.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
It's a lot you mostly basketball.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Yeah, My mother and her twin sister and my aunt
were both professional basketball players. My uncle was a professional
basketball player, and my dad played in college. Grandpa played
in college. All three of my cousins are pros right now.
And you know, one played in the States for college,
the other two just went right to be in pros.
And then my grandfather on my mother's side, he was
actually professional soccer player goalie.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
He's probably I was.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Just counting on my fingers, I'm pretty sure that's ten.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
He's the most legendary of all of us. And you know,
he passed, you know, when I was in college. But
his example, especially when I was young, just how he
carried himself as you know, a champion, as a as
a legend of the game, you know in Europe, you know,
was a was an example to me, all my cousins
and everyone in our family that we wanted to look
towards someone like that could be that humble, carry himself
in that way and also win and you know, at
(13:11):
a high level.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Look at what do what does things saving look like?
I mean they're all international, so I know, thanks saving
isn't necessarily the thing. But what do family get together
look like? Do you guys get out on the court.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And well, when I was younger, you know, we used
to go to Europe every summer and kind of everyone
would be there and so that was when you know,
we were either playing basketball, you know, we my my
my grandfather had a cabin and there would be he
built a basketball court like a little you know hoop
and on a tree and he put like a basket
chain net all that. So we would play outside me
(13:40):
and my cousins, you know.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
So that's the secret to getting to the pros, just
playing on the chain link.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Yeah, and there's three of them, so two on two,
you know, probably me and the younger one against the
two older ones. They wanted to beat up on us,
but uh, you know, we do that. We played soccer,
you know, we do a bunch of different you know, games,
activities and all kind of challenging each other. And so
that was always awesome growing up. And then in my household,
my you know, my dad held a level of standard
(14:05):
for me, uh you know, to approach every single day
with that kind of mindset, and I think that's that's
how I have it now. Was just he was at everything,
you know, he was one of those dads that was
you know, he didn't miss an AAU practice like he
was at every single day I had something going on
with basketball, he was right there watching and supporting me.
But also you know, setting an expectation, expectation level that
(14:26):
I don't take any single day for granted any time
that I you know, go on to court. So that
helped me, uh you know, an extreme amount. So you know,
he's still a vital role and in my basketball career
comes to pretty much. You know, he'll be at every
game this year probably and uh, you know so and
and my mom will come as much as he can.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
So what was it like on draft night? I mean,
when I have to feel as a parent when they
put in all that time and resources and effort everything
to help to bring you to where you are. And
then on draft night, like you hear your name called,
what was that like sharing that moment with them?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Yeah, Draft night is you know, it's a it's a
you know, makes a bag of emotions. You know for me,
you know, being a guy that I felt like, you know,
I could have gotten earlier in the draft. It felt
like my workouts and you know my college career kind
of reflected that. But you know it just didn't happen
for me. And you know, getting the call at the
fifty second pick, and you know, I kind of was
told on the phone by Troy Troy Weaver, who you
(15:22):
know obviously gave me my first opportunity league. I would
be forever thankful for him and what he did for me.
But you know the call was, you know, we don't
really have room, but you know, if you play well,
we'll make room, and so you know, it was kind
of a motivation right away to get to some league,
to go play, to show that I deserve to be
here in this league. So it was kind of a mix.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Obviously you take you take that second to hear your
name and be like, wow, I'm in the NBA. But
now it's like, let's go get get it. Let's go
get it, let's go after it. But you know, I
think for my parents, especially, that moment was was huge,
and uh, you know, I think for me, I didn't
get to enjoy it, you know, probably as much as
I should have. But you know, I'm glad I didn't
because I went into some league with the right mindset
(16:02):
and you know, everything I did since then led me
to this moment right here.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
So well, we've got to wrap up, but I can't
do it without asking you about this, because this is insane.
When I looked it up and I saw it when
I was researching for this conversation. Your sophomore year of college,
you had a surgery, Yeah, to remove what like when
I was like, that's got to be a typele hold on, Yeah,
tell the people what happened when you were a sophomore Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
So honestly, it started back in my senior year in
high school. I kind of noticed it was a you know,
bump in my abdomen and I didn't know, you know,
what it was, and you know, I kind of asked
some questions, and you know, also just you know, being
a tough minded player, and you didn't complain. I didn't
feel much pain there. I just kind of noticed it
was a little weird. And you know, one of the
(16:47):
summer going in my sophomore year, I started to nose
pain in that area, and you know, we did a
bunch of tests and you know, there was a there
was a cyst about the size of a collegiate volleyball.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Oh my god, it was like a yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Ten pounds, and I what that's crazy. I lost double
digit pounds in surgery. But it was connected to my
spleen and so.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
I'm just wow, I didn't know that far.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Yeah, I'm very thankful, thankful to God, thankful to everything
that you know, before that I hadn't gotten elbowed or
anything in that area, because if it had ruptured, I would.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Have died on the spot.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
So you know, I'm you know, very blessed, and that
moment kind of changed a lot for me. And it
was the first time the game had ever been put
in question in terms of how does the surgery go.
Am I going to lose my spleen too? Am I
going to miss the whole year? Am I going to
have to put basketball aside for a while, or what
is it going to be? So that changed my perspective
on a lot of things. You know, I was, like
(17:36):
I said, it was very blessed in favor to be
in at the University of Iowa. One of the best
surgeons kind of in this kind of specialty, in this
realm was at the children's hospital, and and so he
was able to perform the surgery and everything went well,
and you know, I think it was I didn't miss
a game that year. You know, four weeks later, weeks later,
I was there and you know, just speaking about my dad,
(17:56):
you know, obviously I had to stay in the hospital,
and at first I couldn't really walk or do much,
and you know, my dad stayed with me and was
literally like, you know, carrying me to the shower, you know,
making food for me, doing everything, and just there with
me every single step of the way. My whole family
came to stay with me in the hospital. All my teammates,
coaches came and visited me, and it was a big
moment for me in a lot of different ways. And
(18:16):
I gained a lot of perspective and a lot of
gratefulness and gratitude and helped me understand that you know,
uh to enjoy and make the most of every single
moment you get.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Well. I got to say that when I read this,
when I was researching, all of those details were not
in there. I didn't know that you went through all that.
That's an incredible story and I'm glad that you were
able to come out on the other side. And now
you're sitting here with us. Yeah, ngrat that you've made
it back and that you've made it to the Spout.
We can't wait to watch you all season long, hopefully
taking advantage of this incredible opportunity that you got on.
(18:48):
Thank you, We appreciate it. Good luck this season.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Thank you.
All right, one of Boston's newest big man, Luca Garza,
is in the house today. Meet View from the Rafters,
View from the Rafters, Meet Luca Garza. We appreciate it
coming on today. What's it been like just settling into Boston, man,
we were just talking before we started recording. You're living
downtown in that area. How you enjoying it.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I'm loving I love the city.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
You're not going to tell the people exactly, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Exactly, I'll give them my address, right Yeah, But you know,
I'm from Washington, d C. So im from the East Coast,
so it's kind of really nice to get back to
the East Coast. You know, I spent the last eight
years of my life in the Midwest, so I love
the Midwest. But you know, I'm an East Coast guy,
so it's nice to get back in a big city
and already just to food, the people and obviously.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
The team in the organization, it's just been it's been amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
You mentioned food. You gotta tell us, like, what's the food?
What's the go to so far?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Oh, there's a lot of spots. There's a lot of spots,
I'd say right now, probably my favorite spot is Low
the forty two.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, all right there last night.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I'm not a big sushi guy, so I can't join
this conversation.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Yeah, what is the transition like for you? You don't
like sushi?
Speaker 1 (01:10):
No, I'm not a sushi guy. I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
We got other off.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
We'll cook the fish for your.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I can't eat raw foods. I just but okay, maybe
I'll do for you. Maybe I'll go and I'll get
some cooked sushi there. All right, all right?
Speaker 4 (01:24):
What is the transition now that you've done it a
few times? Coming into a new city, kind of trying
to get the lay of the land, figuring out where's
the best place to be relative to the practice facility
versus the arena, and just kind of finding your way.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yeah, for sure. I mean I think when you're younger
in the league, it's a little different than you know.
Now this is year five for me, so I've kind
of like earned a level up.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
I've always kind of lived right by the practice facility
and kind of prioritized that. But now that I've gotten
older and older and just kind of, you know, want
to enjoy the city, especially when I'm moving somewhere new,
you know, I wanted to be you know, I wanted
to be in it and be in the city. And
you know, moving here by myself too, so uh you
know that made it. Uh you know that made it cool.
And you know it's still nice. Nice drive here, and
(02:05):
and I can get here anytime.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
So nice drive here. You probably hit some like weird
intersections in the roundabout.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
The driving here had a little strange. I can't understand
some of it.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
It was definitely built by the Europeans when they came over.
It doesn't make much.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Well, I mean no, if that's the drivers too, It's
like everyone else just wants to leave their car in
the middle of the road and put the lights on.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I think that's okay. I don't I don't understand. I
have to go around.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I don't know about that.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
I take on a Joe Missoula mentality when I'm driving,
and it's like take no prisoners, create chaos, like warm morality.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Let's stay away from the abbey.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Yeah, yeah, you got to be aggressive out there.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
It's true. You can get bullied out there real quick. Yeah.
I've been in the Midwest too long. I was driving
and being too nice.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
People are like you you shouldn't have to stop signed
for an hour because the people are just running right
through it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
So when you talk about being here, obviously we just
talked about like moving into the city, but orizationally, like,
what are you noticing that are some differences here after
being here for a good chunk of time now, like
differences here to what you've experienced so far in your
first two organizations you were with Detroit and Minnesota. For
those of you who don't know.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yeah, first I'd say just expectation. You know, when you
walk in in the practice and you see all the banners,
you know that that just carries a message in itself
of just what, you know, what needs to happen here,
and it's to win. So I think this is, you know,
probably the first organization that's had that kind of expectation.
And I mean obviously it's you know, the most championships
in the NBA, so you know, it's the only organization
(03:32):
that's going to be like that at that level. So
that's number one. But I think from the top down,
it's just there's so many incredible people, and you know,
it's it's it's a lot different in many different ways.
And I think just the way Joe is the way
he communicates, and you know the details that are kind
of put into motion here, and you know, obviously with
Brad and his you know beliefs and you know how
(03:53):
everything goes. It's just it's a cool mix that they
have going on.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Brad has mentioned and you talked about it too, just
he's had his eye on you. He's watched you and
your career pretty closely. I mean even from the college game.
What were those conversations with him, like and why did
you want to come to Boston?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yeah, I mean I think it's interesting. You know, people
always tell you that every moment matters. You know, I
had a draft work out here and you know, interviews
and different things like that, and you know, it was
one of many, and I didn't think too much of it,
didn't hear much from Boston on draft night. But you know,
here you come four years later, and you know some
of those some of those meetings, some of those interviews
meant a lot more than you know, even I thought
in the moment.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
So he brought those up to you.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
I think everyone kind of talked about I had a
couple of people come talk to me about my workout
and stuff.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Like that.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
So that was that was interesting. You know, I think
Brad had watched me even before that, and uh, you
know had his eye on me in college as well,
and then just kind of seeing you know how I
you know, approached every single opportunity you know, going through
in Minnesota and even in Detroit. But you know, those
initial conversations for me, it was, you know, the chance
to come here and play for this franchise, but also
the opportunity that was here was something that I haven't
(05:00):
had in my career yet. You know, I've been fortunately
been on to be on really really good teams, but
especially with a lot of great big men and you know,
loaded front courts, so I've kind of been behind, uh,
you know, the eight ball in terms of opportunities to
play as much. So uh, you know that was a
priority for me when I had the chance to go
into free agency, was you know, finding a place that
you know has a belief in me and and a
(05:21):
plan in place, but also an opportunity. You know, I
wanted to get on the floor and show what I
can do consistently. And I think they you know, that's
something they were talking about from day one, was that
you know, we've we've seen you know, what you can
do in pieces and at different points. You know, we
love the mentality you bring. And I think they wanted
me to add to the culture, the championship culture that's
been here. I think there's been so many amazing guys
(05:42):
and examples of guys that come in with the right
mindset every single day. And I knew I could, I
could shoulder that and be that because that's you know,
who I am in general. So I knew I had
that part taking care of. But you know, it was
definitely a priority to be able to get on the floor.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
When you talk about those other guys that have kind
of like set the example here. One guy who stands
out who's now in San Antonio is Luke Cornette, right
like he came in here as I think he might
have been Exhibit ten or definitely a two way at times,
and then now he goes through this development program, winds
up with a pretty significant contract out in San Antonio.
As you went into free agency and you started talking here,
(06:21):
was that in your mind at all of like seeing
someone like that, a big man come through this development
program and turn into what he is now, Like, is
that something you as a free agent, think about.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
And as a as a person, as a player, I'm
always looking towards example of people who do it the
right way and kind of go through that grind of
you know, being in the G League and you know,
make that example for me and kind of lead the path.
And you know, I think I had a couple of
great examples in Minnesota with Nasri, guys like Nasried and
Nikhil Alexander Walker who were G League guys, or Nikhil
who was kind of on his last you know leg
(06:51):
with Utah and getting traded in Minnesota, and you know,
at that point of his career he was in a
little bit of a limbo, but he took advantage of
the opportunity and obviously just got paid this summer and
you know, we'll never go back to that that point
he was at. And you know, I think Luke Corner
has another great example. Guy who was in the league, uh,
you know, played for a lot of good teams, but
then kind of you know, how to work his way
through the g LEI to get back into the league,
(07:12):
and you know, obviously just he's a great example of
how he carried himself and Obviously, the people you know
love him here, and you know, he's just he was
a smart IQ guy, and so I think there's a
lot of similarities that I see in terms of just
the way he approached the game. Obviously we're different in
a lot of ways as well, But I think, you know,
that's anytime I can look an example like that and
see that, you know, for me, it just means that
(07:32):
it's possible for me too. And that's something you know
that I embody and bring into in with me every
single time I, you know, I walk on a court
is knowing that if I take advantage of this opportunity,
that I can continue to develop and put myself in
a great position.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I guess I guess what I'm getting at is like,
not necessarily like the people that you've seen take those
steps from where they were to where they are now,
but like this particular development program has produced that for sure,
Like does how much do you and your agent kind
of talk about that stuff? Because Luke's not the only one,
Sam Houser, Like, there's a pretty long list of guys.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I mean sure, I mean this organization has built so
many guys from that you know, from the G League
and just building him up over time, or picking guys
that you know, they bring in that you know kind
of weren't uh, you know, coveted free agents, and then
kind of turning him into you know, guys that go
in to free agency as like a huge target. And
so I think, you know, that's all you know based
on you know, their development plan, what they do. And
(08:25):
I knew that as soon as I got here, just
you know, working with Coach d Mac and Coach Craig
and you know the development staff here, you know right
away just they had a plan for me, and you know,
they this is what we see you as we see
you can be. These are the areas you can improve on.
And for me, that's just that's absolutely what I want,
just knowing you know that there's a plan in place,
but also that they have, you know, idea suggestions, all
(08:47):
this kind of stuff, and they're going to push me
and put me in the best position possible. And I think,
you know, the thing that you know is different about
here is I think different organizations sometimes you won't get
put in the best positions, especially if you're not a
priority guy. But I think here, no matter who you are,
one through eighteen when you get on the court, you're
going to be put in the best position possible for you.
You know, you're not just fitting into a mold of
(09:08):
another player. And that's one difference that I've noticed here
that I haven't really experienced in any other place in
my career.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
That's cool to hear.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
But you and that entire group in the front court
largely unproven, but you guys are putting in the work
as well. To a man, you guys came in early,
I mean some as really as August and have been
working together to get the most out of those opportunities
once you're on the floor. How unique is that and
how has it been developing that chemistry with that group?
Speaker 3 (09:36):
It's been awesome, I think for us three. You know,
we're all at kind of similar points in our career.
You know, guys that have made the most of a
lot of opportunities but haven't gotten consistent opportunities at the
level that we want to. And so we all have
a big chip on our shoulder and a lot of
motivation and we come in every single day with an
approach in a mindset that you know, we want to
show that we can be you know, a front court
(09:56):
that can be among the best, and that we can
you know, anchor the paint. We can get our teammates
involved with screening and and different things like that, and
then obviously show our individual ways of how we can
impact the game. And you know, all of us bring
different things to the table, and I think we embrace
those things and you know, kind of uplift each other
to make sure that we all all are going towards
the common goal, and that's winning. And I think that's
(10:17):
the thing that's emphasized here in this organization so much
is that, you know, team success is you know, what
brings the individual success for every single person. And so
you know, that's been a lot of fun, you know,
and also you know, they're they're great guys too. You know,
he'saving me. Have been going at it since high school
and and you know m b p a Top one
hundred camp and at the University of Virginia. You know,
(10:39):
it was probably the first time I matched up against him,
but seeing him in AAU and the e YbO then
at Machine State, just battling with him, you know. But
you know, he's one of the one of my you know,
favorite competitors guys. I've ever been against and Neem is
the same way too. You know, we probably haven't matched
up each other as much as me and X, but
anytime I got the chance to get on the on
the court and go against him, I've loved that that
(11:01):
competitive spirit he has and the energy brings to the game.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
How much pressure are you guys feeling to be that
for this team considering the losses and the changes that
the Celtics went through this summer.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
You know, I think a lot of the pressure goes
away when you spend years kind of waiting for that opportunity.
You know, we've been chomping at the bit to get
out there and get on the floor and watching guys
in front of us, knowing that we can help impact,
knowing that we can help impact winning every single night
and not getting the chance to. I think that removes
a lot of the pressure, just knowing that we're going
to get out there and do it and you know,
perform at the level that we know we can and
(11:35):
just have a high level of motivation and energy every
single time we step on the court and use that
use that chip on our shoulder that we know that
you know, this is this is an opportunity of a
lifetime for all three of us, and so we're going
to make sure that we take advantage of it. And
you know, with that, it's it's hard to feel the pressure.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
That's that's impressive that you cannot feel the pressure in Boston. Yeah,
that's impressive. We'll see if that stays the whole way.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
I mean, you do have an upbringing in your family
where there is a championship mentality and there is a
level to say.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
It's like you.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Mentioned, yes, a standard that is required just to kind
of show up to Thanksgiving right on.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Percent, you must be a D one athlete or a
professional athlete. Like how many is it? Like eight or
nine family members were either D one or pro in
some sport.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
It's a lot you mostly basketball.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Yeah, My mother and her twin sister and my aunt
were both professional basketball players. My uncle was a professional
basketball player, and my dad played in college. Grandpa played
in college. All three of my cousins are pros right now.
And you know, one played in the States for college,
the other two just went right to be in pros.
And then my grandfather on my mother's side, he was
actually professional soccer player goalie.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
He's probably I was.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Just counting on my fingers, I'm pretty sure that's ten.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
He's the most legendary of all of us. And you know,
he passed, you know, when I was in college. But
his example, especially when I was young, just how he
carried himself as you know, a champion, as a as
a legend of the game, you know in Europe, you know,
was a was an example to me, all my cousins
and everyone in our family that we wanted to look
towards someone like that could be that humble, carry himself
in that way and also win and you know, at
(13:11):
a high level.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Look at what do what does things saving look like?
I mean they're all international, so I know, thanks saving
isn't necessarily the thing. But what do family get together
look like? Do you guys get out on the court.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And well, when I was younger, you know, we used
to go to Europe every summer and kind of everyone
would be there and so that was when you know,
we were either playing basketball, you know, we my my
my grandfather had a cabin and there would be he
built a basketball court like a little you know hoop
and on a tree and he put like a basket
chain net all that. So we would play outside me
(13:40):
and my cousins, you know.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
So that's the secret to getting to the pros, just
playing on the chain link.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Yeah, and there's three of them, so two on two,
you know, probably me and the younger one against the
two older ones. They wanted to beat up on us,
but uh, you know, we do that. We played soccer,
you know, we do a bunch of different you know, games,
activities and all kind of challenging each other. And so
that was always awesome growing up. And then in my household,
my you know, my dad held a level of standard
(14:05):
for me, uh you know, to approach every single day
with that kind of mindset, and I think that's that's
how I have it now. Was just he was at everything,
you know, he was one of those dads that was
you know, he didn't miss an AAU practice like he
was at every single day I had something going on
with basketball, he was right there watching and supporting me.
But also you know, setting an expectation, expectation level that
(14:26):
I don't take any single day for granted any time
that I you know, go on to court. So that
helped me, uh you know, an extreme amount. So you know,
he's still a vital role and in my basketball career
comes to pretty much. You know, he'll be at every
game this year probably and uh, you know so and
and my mom will come as much as he can.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
So what was it like on draft night? I mean,
when I have to feel as a parent when they
put in all that time and resources and effort everything
to help to bring you to where you are. And
then on draft night, like you hear your name called,
what was that like sharing that moment with them?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Yeah, Draft night is you know, it's a it's a
you know, makes a bag of emotions. You know for me,
you know, being a guy that I felt like, you know,
I could have gotten earlier in the draft. It felt
like my workouts and you know my college career kind
of reflected that. But you know it just didn't happen
for me. And you know, getting the call at the
fifty second pick, and you know, I kind of was
told on the phone by Troy Troy Weaver, who you
(15:22):
know obviously gave me my first opportunity league. I would
be forever thankful for him and what he did for me.
But you know the call was, you know, we don't
really have room, but you know, if you play well,
we'll make room, and so you know, it was kind
of a motivation right away to get to some league,
to go play, to show that I deserve to be
here in this league. So it was kind of a mix.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Obviously you take you take that second to hear your
name and be like, wow, I'm in the NBA. But
now it's like, let's go get get it. Let's go
get it, let's go after it. But you know, I
think for my parents, especially, that moment was was huge,
and uh, you know, I think for me, I didn't
get to enjoy it, you know, probably as much as
I should have. But you know, I'm glad I didn't
because I went into some league with the right mindset
(16:02):
and you know, everything I did since then led me
to this moment right here.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
So well, we've got to wrap up, but I can't
do it without asking you about this, because this is insane.
When I looked it up and I saw it when
I was researching for this conversation. Your sophomore year of college,
you had a surgery, Yeah, to remove what like when
I was like, that's got to be a typele hold on, Yeah,
tell the people what happened when you were a sophomore Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
So honestly, it started back in my senior year in
high school. I kind of noticed it was a you know,
bump in my abdomen and I didn't know, you know,
what it was, and you know, I kind of asked
some questions, and you know, also just you know, being
a tough minded player, and you didn't complain. I didn't
feel much pain there. I just kind of noticed it
was a little weird. And you know, one of the
(16:47):
summer going in my sophomore year, I started to nose
pain in that area, and you know, we did a
bunch of tests and you know, there was a there
was a cyst about the size of a collegiate volleyball.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Oh my god, it was like a yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Ten pounds, and I what that's crazy. I lost double
digit pounds in surgery. But it was connected to my
spleen and so.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
I'm just wow, I didn't know that far.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Yeah, I'm very thankful, thankful to God, thankful to everything
that you know, before that I hadn't gotten elbowed or
anything in that area, because if it had ruptured, I would.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Have died on the spot.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
So you know, I'm you know, very blessed, and that
moment kind of changed a lot for me. And it
was the first time the game had ever been put
in question in terms of how does the surgery go.
Am I going to lose my spleen too? Am I
going to miss the whole year? Am I going to
have to put basketball aside for a while, or what
is it going to be? So that changed my perspective
on a lot of things. You know, I was, like
(17:36):
I said, it was very blessed in favor to be
in at the University of Iowa. One of the best
surgeons kind of in this kind of specialty, in this
realm was at the children's hospital, and and so he
was able to perform the surgery and everything went well,
and you know, I think it was I didn't miss
a game that year. You know, four weeks later, weeks later,
I was there and you know, just speaking about my dad,
(17:56):
you know, obviously I had to stay in the hospital,
and at first I couldn't really walk or do much,
and you know, my dad stayed with me and was
literally like, you know, carrying me to the shower, you know,
making food for me, doing everything, and just there with
me every single step of the way. My whole family
came to stay with me in the hospital. All my teammates,
coaches came and visited me, and it was a big
moment for me in a lot of different ways. And
(18:16):
I gained a lot of perspective and a lot of
gratefulness and gratitude and helped me understand that you know,
uh to enjoy and make the most of every single
moment you get.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Well. I got to say that when I read this,
when I was researching, all of those details were not
in there. I didn't know that you went through all that.
That's an incredible story and I'm glad that you were
able to come out on the other side. And now
you're sitting here with us. Yeah, ngrat that you've made
it back and that you've made it to the Spout.
We can't wait to watch you all season long, hopefully
taking advantage of this incredible opportunity that you got on.
(18:48):
Thank you, We appreciate it. Good luck this season.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Thank you.
Host
Marc D'Amico
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