Detroit Pistons: Why Luka Garza will soon be your favorite player

If you’re a fan of the Detroit Pistons, chances are your favorite player is one of four (or five) guys, but that could all be about to change after the addition of Luka Garza.

Jerami Grant had a breakout year and actually wants to be here, so he’s very likable. Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey had excellent rookie campaigns. One has a fun nickname and the other is one of the greatest rookie shooters ever, so there’s a lot to like there.

Cade Cunningham has been advertised as the savior of Detroit basketball and brings the energy the franchise desperately needs. If you’re a Michigan native or Wolverine, then maybe Isaiah Livers takes the cake for you. All of these players are great options, but in a couple of months, Little Caeser’s Arena will be filled with chants for Luka Garza.

Garza was drafted late in the second round, which looked like a steal at the time and is quickly being proven true. In two games with Detroit in Summer League play he has averaged 12 points and flashed the ability to score from all over the court.

Detroit Pistons: Fans in Detroit are going to love Luka Garza’s trash talk and swagger

Luka Garza will not be an elite defender or even a consistent starter. He can easily be a fresh presence off the bench who will provide scoring, ball handling, facilitating, and be a great pick-and-roll player. Rather than focusing on what he doesn’t bring to the table, Pistons fans should be happy they got a good backup big so late in the draft.

Being a solid second option doesn’t sell jerseys. Talking trash after every bucket and scoring in style does. Garza managed to do both in a single play and was hollering at opposing players all game against both the Thunder and Rockets in his two Summer League games so far.

After the release of Untold: The Malice at the Palace, Piston fans should be wary about encouraging on-court altercations, but no one in their right mind would tangle with Garza. He’s 6’11’’ and weighs 245 pounds of pure muscle. If he hits a fadeaway in your face, he gets to talk about it–he’s had his fair share of haters.

While he won’t be as good as Cade Cunningham, won’t have the scoring success of Bey, the nickname of Beef Stew, and doesn’t have the local connection of Livers, Garza could embody the gritty, in-your-face style of basketball Detroit loves, and he can let everyone know this is his court when he steps on it. I expect that when he makes his debut this fall it will be to thunderous applause. Garza jerseys will become a popular item.

Luka Graza doesn’t have to be an exceptional player. He just has to play with some swagger and let everyone know he deserves to be here. So far, so good. He’ll be a fun player to watch on a team that is on the rise. The Detroit Pistons might not be his team, but the fanbase could belong to him shortly.