In the first game of the knockout round yesterday, Portugal fell to Germany 85-58, marking an end to their EuroBasket hopes.
One bright spot in their blowout loss was Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta. In 26 minutes of play, Queta posted a double-double, finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds. This wasn’t Queta’s only solid performance throughout the tournament, as he recorded 23 points and 18 rebounds against the Czech Republic.
Leading the way for Portugal, Queta averaged 15.5 points per game and eight rebounds across six games. This is great news for Boston Celtics fans as Queta used the summer playing for his home country of Portugal to gain valuable experience to take with him for the 2025-26 season.
The former second-round pick has only started six career NBA games, but is on track to be the Celtics’ starting center this upcoming year. After losing Luke Kornet to the San Antonio Spurs, declining to re-sign veteran center Al Horford and trading away Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks, Queta will be thrust into the largest role of his young NBA career.
While Queta has large shoes to fill, his performance at EuroBasket is encouraging to Celtics fans who are hopeful from a stand-out season from the 26-year-old.
Along with Queta, Xavier Tillman will also be used in a much larger role for the Celtics in the 2025-26 season. Although Boston is expected to take a step backwards this season, great play from their young core could still see them make the playoffs with an outside chance to contend.
