Going into the World Cup qualifying matchup between Spain and Portugal this week, the Boston Celtics had plenty of connections on hand. Spain featured rising second-year player Hugo Gonzalez, as well as former Celtics short-timer Juancho Hernangomez–two of six players on the Spanish roster with NBA connections. That’s one reason they were 12.5-point favorites to beat Portugal, whose only NBA player happens to be Boston center Neemias Queta.
But Queta and Portugal did something that had never happened before in the country’s national team history: They beat Spain, traditionally the second-best basketball country outside of the U.S., for the first time in a tournament, 95-89. That moved their record to 4-3 in qualifying and keeps their hopes alive for the nation’s first-ever spot in the World Cup.
And Queta was at the heart of it, with a brilliant second half and a final line of 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting, with nine rebounds.
Neemias Queta Growing Along With Portugal
Queta is one of the leaders of the rising Portugal national team, which made an appearance in Eurobasket last year for just the fourth time in history and the first time since 2011. Going up against stiff competition in the qualifiers will likely go a long way toward honing his skills ahead of a big 2026-27 season for the Celtics.
He has taken special pride in the rise of his national team.
“It’s a growing thing,” he told Eurohoops. “We’re getting so much better as a country in the sport. So, I feel like it’s only fitting that I keep on getting better, too. So, I just want to be out here competing my best and live with the results.”
Celtics Gave Neemias Queta $56 Million Extension
Queta has reason to be confident heading into the Celtics season next month, and not just because of how he has managed to handle his international play. He was also given his first major contract in the NBA this offseason, agreeing to a four-year, $56 million contract extension that will kick in after this year.
Queta is coming off a season in which he averaged 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds in 76 games. He started 75 of those games, a big jump for a player who appeared in only 48 games in his first three seasons in the NBA, first in Sacramento and then in Boston. But with the new contract will come more expectations, and Queta will need to improve this season.
After last spring’s stunning loss to the Sixers, after the Celtics built a 3-1 lead, team president Brad Stevens lamented the fact that Queta did not have much impact at the rim and struggled to guard Joel Embiid without fouling. “”To be honest, one of the things with Neemi was just figuring out how to keep him on the floor,” Stevens said. “Because he had two games where he’s off the floor in four minutes.”
Celtics Have Competition at Center
Indeed, there will be a challenge to Queta’s spot in the starting lineup, with the Celtics signing former Knicks center Mitchell Robinson. When Stevens said the team needed more impact at the rim, he also added that he’d have to look elsewhere to get it. Robinson–an outstanding rebounder and interior defender–was his answer.
So it will be up to Queta to keep getting better. Even if Robinson starts, he has been very injury prone throughout his career, and Queta will get ample time on the court.
Until then, though, Queta will keep pushing forward with Portugal–they’ll play Georgia, which is also 4-3, on Monday in a must-win game.
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