For Boston Celtics center Luka Garza, being in the NBA changed his life in an unexpected way.
“I’m a guy that when I really entered the NBA, I didn’t have much a relationship with God,” Garza said in Bible Study #10 shared on Toronto Raptors center Trey Jemison’s Instagram. “But the community around the league, the men of God around the league, chapel before the game is really what inspired me and pushed me to deepen my relationship, to strengthen, to even find God in general.”
One verse that stuck out to Garza in a Bible study before a game was Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
“I think there are moments that you feel like God is speaking directly to you, and when I heard this verse for the first time it was before a game,” the athlete recalled. “This was a stretch of the season where honestly I wasn’t playing much, and even if I was playing, I wasn’t playing very well, and it’s tough in those moments. It’s easy, it’s human, it’s natural to almost fall into becoming weary or becoming frustrated or stagnated, and hearing this just rejuvenated me.”
He explained that his desire to work hard can make him a “victim” of wanting to control outcomes.
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But he’s learned that “I’m the best version of myself when I’m able to let go of that and place my faith and my trust in God and just understand that there is a proper time, and if I don’t give up, that I’ll be able to reap that harvest.”
“I think it’s just such a powerful reminder regardless of what the outcome or result is going to be, understanding that you can’t control that, and all you can control is what you do every single day,” Garza emphasized. “You know, doing the right things, serving God, serving others. As Trey says, chasing God and living your life in that way and just having faith and trust and understanding that the proper time is coming.”
Last season, Garza played in 65 games, with an average of 16 minutes per game and 7.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, according to ESPN.
Garza is ready for the 2026-2027 NBA season. He knows that regardless of how much he plays, if he continues to put his faith in God, he “will reap a harvest.”
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