Insider: Celtics Big Man May Be Among NBA’s Best In This Statistic

The NBA’s leaders in offensive rebounds and offensive rebounds per game last season were Los Angeles Clippers star Ivica Zubac and Utah Jazz standout Walker Kessler, respectively.

Now, with an expected increased opportunity for playing time, Boston Celtics insider Jay King believes that 26-year-old big man Neemias Queta could be among the league leaders in offensive boards.

“After a successful EuroBasket run — he averaged 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals per game while leading Portugal to the tournament’s knockout stage for the first time ever — Queta will have pressure to iron out the inconsistencies that have plagued him early in his career. Despite those, he has been productive inside and on the glass throughout four NBA seasons,” King wrote. “With a full season of rotation minutes, don’t be surprised if he finishes near the top of the league leaderboard in offensive rebounding.”

Queta played just 48 games prior to the 2024-25 campaign but appeared in a career-high 62 contests last season, making his first six starts as well.

While the former second-round pick has just 161 offensive rebounds across 110 career games (1.5 per contest), it wouldn’t be a shock to see Queta’s numbers increased drastically.

For comparison, Zubac (a fellow former second-round pick) averaged 1.1, 1.0 and 1.9 offensive rebounds per game across his first three seasons. His production began to skyrocket after he was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Clippers in February 2019.

Queta’s offensive rebounding numbers jump to 4.3 per game when calculated to per 36 minutes. Kessler led the NBA in offensive rebounds per game last season at 4.6.

“Queta’s increased presence should cause a statistical shift for the Celtics. They finished 18th in offensive rebound rate last season, but have a chance to leap up the rankings with Queta and Luka Garza set to take on significant roles. When Queta was on the court last season, Boston had a 33-percent offensive rebound rate, which would have ranked in the top three leaguewide,” King wrote. “He and Garza have been premier offensive rebounders throughout their careers, unlike two of the centers they will be replacing, Porziņģis and Horford. Those guys will be missed in plenty of other ways, just not on the offensive glass.”