Neemias Queta fulfilled his dream in the 2021/22 season, as well as the dream of Portuguese basketball, to play in the North American League (NBA), but he endured a difficult season as a “rookie” of little use to the somewhat “lost” Sacramento Kings. .
Due to the excess of competition for pole position, the Portuguese, fifth in the pecking order, was rarely an option for coach Alvin Gentry and never got into the rotation, and was only used in games in which the team had a lot of losses due to covid-19 or injury, or at the end of legal matches.
Covered by Rishon Holmes, Damian Jones and Alex Len throughout the season, as well as Tristan Thompson (until early February) and Domantas Sabonis (after that), Nehemiah appeared in only 15 of 82 regular season games, totaling 119.34 minutes .
The 2.13-meter Portuguese Pole averaged eight minutes per game but was only on the field for more than a dozen minutes in five games, four of them in the final part of the season when the Kings were long out of contention. for the playoffs, in which, in truth, they never were.
With such little use, his numbers could not help but impress, as they were: for the history of the debut season – 45 points (average 3.0 per game), 31 rebounds (2.1), eight starting tackles (0.5) and six gears (0.4).
In terms of shots, he averaged 44.7% of shots from the field (17 of 38) without making a single triple and 64.7% of free throws (11 of 17).
“A year of constant growth. Adversity takes you where you want to go,” the Portuguese player wrote on his official Instagram account hours after the end of the NBA regular season in a post accompanied by 10 images.
All in all, the Kings once again missed the playoffs for the 16th consecutive season (the last time they were in 2005/06) when they were in 12th place in the Western Conference with 30 victories and 52 victories. loss, just after the disappointing Los Angeles Lakers to LeBron James.
The mid-season switch, which brought in Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb, as well as Buddy Heald, Tyrese Haliburton and Tristan Thompson, did nothing to improve a team that doesn’t seem ready to return to the playoffs. soon .
For Nimias, the trade was also not profitable, as he remained the fifth option in terms of the number of posts, and Sabonis played many more minutes than Thompson.
Against all odds, the Portuguese giant has made history since December 17, 2021, when he was used in a Memphis Grizzlies mainstay in a 124-105 loss to become the first Portuguese to play in the NBA.
This moment has been highly anticipated since July 29, when he was drafted 39th overall by the Sacramento Kings in New York.
On his debut, the former Barreirense, Benfica and Utah State player was entitled to 7.44 minutes, during which he missed four shots from the field, but grabbed five rebounds, one assist and one tackle.
After two episodic runs down the field in the next games he played, he returned to make history in his fourth meeting on Jan. 10, playing 24.05 minutes of reception against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a fierce collective encounter. with a loss on points (108-109).
Individually, Nimias was in top form with 11 points, his first NBA total of four of seven on “shoots” from the field and three of four on free throws, plus five rebounds, an assist and a stolen ball. With the Portuguese on the field, the Kings scored eight more points than the Cavs.
This meeting generated a lot of enthusiasm, as if predicting another use from then on, but the reality is that this game was an exception that never happened again.
Two days later, the Portuguese finally achieved his first triumph, and immediately in the reception to the Lakers (125-116), but stayed on the field for only 48 seconds.
He was also underutilized over the next two months, earning only a mention of the 8.15 minutes he played in the Boston Celtics’ stronghold—even if it was the last of a long-lost game (128–75)—where he added six points.
With the end of the regular season and several players already on “vacation”, Nemias Kveta had his most active phase, four games using over 10 minutes in which he scored all points and rebounds.
Parallel to his use by the Sacramento Kings, the Portuguese center also played in the G-League, a developmental league given the two-way deal he signed, and for the Stockton Kings, who also missed the “play-off.” Offs averaged 16.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in 14 games.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.