The NBA doesn’t have many serious rivalries nowadays, as players are too friendly and change teams too often to build real animosity towards each other.
That’s not the case in college sports, however, where school rivalries are alive and well.
Just ask Boston Celtics center Luka Garza, who was a four-year starter for Iowa in college. He played all the big schools in the Big Ten, including Michigan State.
While it’s been nearly five years since he graduated and was drafted to the NBA, he still harbors severe mistrust of his former rivals.
On a recent episode of Derrick White’s “White Noise” podcast, Garza shared a wild conspiracy theory about MSU.
Story continues below advertisement
“I think Michigan State purposely puts the basket that they’re gonna shoot on in the first half on that side on purpose. Because it’s just like, the rim, you have to swish it, or it doesn’t go in,” Garza explained. “So I think they do it to themselves so they’re down in the first half, and then they come back in the second half.”
“Every time we’d go there, it was the same story, and this is my conspiracy theory,” Garza continued. “But it’s the worst rim in college basketball, and they only shoot on it in the first half. So the other team comes in in the second half and can’t buy a bucket, and they always come back and win.”
Story continues below advertisement
It’s an interesting theory, and perhaps one that deserves further investigation. The Spartans have always been tough to beat under Tom Izzo, however, especially at the Breslin Center, so it could be tough to prove.
Featured image via Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images
