Portuguese Nehemias Queta begins his third season in the North American Basketball League (NBA), now in new colors, with the Boston Celtics, where he will look to add more minutes and become part of the team’s rotation.
After two seasons with the Sacramento Kings, the first Portuguese to play in the NBA changed his path, moving from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference and to one of the top teams in the league.
Although he ranks fourth in the Celtics’ rotation behind Kristaps Porzingis, who has dealt with injuries in recent seasons, veterans Al Horford and Luke Kornet, Queta has shown good performance in the preseason.
Queta, who appeared in three of the Celtics’ five prep games, finished the preseason with averages of 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game.
Even if he can’t make the Celtics’ first team, Queta signed a two-way contract with the Boston franchise that allows him to play for the Maine Celtics in the G League, a developmental league.
The Portuguese international center had the same contract with the Kings the previous two seasons, something he could no longer do this season.
Queta initially signed a “standard contract” with the Kings, but was eventually released as a free agent, allowing him to sign with any other team to continue his career.
The 24-year-old center forward was selected 39th overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2021 NBA Draft, becoming the first Portuguese player to participate in the tournament.
In his first two seasons in the NBA, Nehemias Queta played 20 games for Sacramento. This stance was used most often by the Stockton Kings, for whom he played 43 games last season, averaging 17.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 tackles per game.
In 20 games with the Sacramento Kings (just five last season), Queta averaged 2.9 points per game and 2.2 rebounds in less than eight minutes per game.
His strong performances in the G League earned the Portuguese player second place in the regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting, behind first baseman Carlik Jones.