Celtics’ Neemias Queta Talks Upcoming Season

Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta is suddenly attracting more eyeballs from fans.

Queta might be the frontrunner to win Boston’s starting center role now that Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet are on different teams, with Al Horford expected to follow suit.

Queta gave Celtics fans something to be excited about on Tuesday as he led Portugal to a massive upset over Spain in an exhibition in Malaga, scoring 17 points — including the game-winning dunk — and adding nine boards.

Queta just turned 26 years old in July. He hasn’t hit his NBA ceiling, and he’ll be getting major minutes for Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics in 2025-26. After his electric exhibition against Spain, the basketball world will be paying closer attention to Queta during the upcoming 42nd EuroBasket tournament, which will take place from August 27 to September 14 in Latvia, Poland, Finland, and Cyprus.

CLSN Media’s Bobby Manning caught up with Queta on Saturday in Queta’s hometown of Lisbon, where the Celtics center is hosting his second annual youth basketball camp.

Manning and Queta covered a ton of topics in a full-length interview. When it came to discussing the upcoming Celtics season, Queta sounded like he’s expecting a winning campaign.

“Obviously, the roster’s going to be different, but I’m not (holding) any different expectations,” Queta said.

“I think we’re still in a good position. JT’s recovering well … JB’s recovering well, so hopefully we can get going, build a foundation again with the new team, with the new guys … we just want to keep on going and build on the foundation that we had … the last couple of years.”

It’s not difficult to argue that Queta is underrated. He’s averaged 13.9 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per 36 minutes for the Celtics in his young career (110 games).

The best is yet to come for Queta. Boston’s re-tooled frontcourt isn’t as weak as people assume.