Detroit Pistons Sign Luka Garza and Chris Smith to Two-Way Contracts

DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has signed center Luka Garza and forward Chris Smith to two-way contracts.  Per team policy, terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

Garza, 6-11, 235, earned unanimous 2020-21 National Player of the Year honors after averaging 24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 31.6 minutes in 31 games as a senior at Iowa. He led the nation in points (747) and field goals made (281) while shooting .553 from the field and .440 from 3-point range in 2020-21. Garza was a two-time unanimous All-America First Team selection and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year while becoming Iowa’s all-time leading scorer (2,306), marking the seventh-highest scoring total in Big Ten history.

Garza became the first Big Ten player to average at least 23.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in consecutive seasons since 1994. He finished his career as a Hawkeye with averages of 18.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in 127 games.

Smith, 6-9, 215, played four seasons at UCLA and averaged 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 105 career games for the Bruins.  He averaged 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in eight games as a senior prior to a season-ending injury.  As a junior, Smith posted averages of 13.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists and was named the Pac 12’s Most Improved Player of the Year while earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors.