Iowa Professional Athletes

Garza Turns Heads — Even in a Loss

Luka Garza is making Boston pay attention. The Iowa big man turned in the most eye-catching performance of the week on March 30, dropping 20 points and pulling down 9 rebounds in 28 minutes off the Celtics' bench in a 102-112 loss to Atlanta. It was, by every measure, the lone highlight in a game the Celtics would rather forget — and Garza finished a remarkable +6 in a game Boston lost by 10. For an Iowa alum fighting to cement his NBA role, that line is hard to ignore.

The rest of the week told a more modest story. Garza logged 13 minutes in a blowout win over Charlotte on March 29, finishing with just 2 points and a +8, then put up 12 points in 14 minutes during a high-scoring 147-129 win over Miami on April 1 — though his -10 plus-minus in that one suggested the Heat had their way with the second unit when he was on the floor. Still, the March 30 outing is the one scouts and Celtics fans will screenshot. As a scorer with size, Garza is flashing something real.

Murray Grinding in Portland

Across the country, Kris Murray has been quietly logging minutes in a Trail Blazers rebuild that is very much a work in progress. The Iowa forward appeared in all three of Portland's games this week with mixed results.

Murray's best showing came on March 29 in a dominant 123-88 blowout of Washington, where he posted 9 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and a sterling +16 in 30 minutes — the kind of performance that earns trust. But bookending that were quieter nights: a forgettable 11-minute cameo in a loss to Dallas on March 28, and a 20-minute outing against New Orleans on April 3 in which he scored just 3 points but flashed some defensive upside with 3 blocks and a steal in Portland's 118-106 win. The Murray twin experiment in Portland continues to be a developmental story worth following.

The Bigger Picture

Iowa isn't exactly flooding NBA rosters, but the Hawkeyes have two legitimate rotation players carving out roles at the pro level. Garza's week is the headline — 20-and-9 off the bench in any context is a statement game, and doing it with a +6 in a loss makes it more impressive, not less. The Celtics are a deep team, and Garza is proving he belongs.

For Murray, the path is longer and less defined, but the defensive moments against New Orleans hint at a player finding a lane as a versatile, switchable big on a rebuilding roster.

Keegan Murray did not appear in game logs during this period. Joe Wieskamp also had no recorded stats, though he is listed with the Mavericks.

Source links cited:

• 10 takeaways from the Celtics' loss to the Hawks in a game you'll soon forget (Yahoo Sports NBA): https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/10-takeaways-celtics-loss-hawks-105200747.html
• There's 1 major bright spot from Celtics loss to Hawks (Yahoo Sports NBA): https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/1-major-bright-spot-celtics-040053601.html

Iowa had a week to remember in the NBA — headlined by Luka Garza delivering back-to-back standout performances for Boston and Payton Sandfort writing one of the feel-good stories of the entire season on his NBA debut night.

Garza Keeps Delivering for the Celtics

Luka Garza has quietly become one of Boston's feel-good stories of 2026, and this week he put up numbers that were impossible to ignore. On Wednesday, the former Hawkeye big man logged 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals in just 17 minutes as the Celtics rolled past Golden State 120-99 — finishing a +10 for the night. It was a carbon copy of his Saturday performance against Washington (also 15 points, +2), giving Garza back-to-back 15-point outings across the week.

The box score production is only part of the story. Garza has become a genuine culture carrier in Boston — a community event appearance in Hyde Park this week drew attention after he shared a story that, according to those present, captured exactly why this Celtics group has been so cohesive. His friendship with Neemias Queta has also become a talking point, with the two combining for 39 points in Saturday's win over Washington and described as each other's biggest cheerleaders in the locker room.

For a player who's spent most of his NBA career fighting for roster spots, Garza is playing with the confidence of someone who belongs — because, increasingly, he does.

Sandfort's Debut Night Was Pure Cinema

Payton Sandfort's first NBA appearance for the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday was understated by the numbers — 3 points, 1 rebound, 4 minutes in a 121-92 blowout win over Brooklyn. But what happened after the final buzzer is what everyone will be talking about.

After logging his first career NBA minutes, Sandfort boarded a flight to surprise his brother Pryce — who was making his own March Madness debut with Nebraska — without telling him. The moment landed nationally, a reminder that for all the NBA glamour, these are still kids who grew up watching each other play in the driveway.

It was the kind of story that transcends a box score, and Sandfort — at just the start of his professional career — already has a debut night he'll tell for the rest of his life.

Kris Murray Holds Steady in Portland

Kris Murray had a quieter but productive week for the Trail Blazers. He paced himself to 14 points, 3 rebounds, a steal, and a +9 in 24 minutes during Monday's win over Brooklyn, bookending a solid showing. The twin brother of Sacramento's Keegan Murray continues to carve out a reliable role in Portland's rotation, and his week-over-week consistency is building a case for a larger one.

Three Iowa alumni. Three distinct storylines. Hawkeye Nation had plenty to watch this week beyond March Madness.