Boston Celtics teammates Neemias Queta and Hugo González sat on opposing benches during Friday’s Portugal vs. Spain FIBA World Cup Qualifying matchup.
Queta, who began his professional career with Benfica in the Portuguese Basketball League, and González, who debuted with Real Madrid in Spain at just 16 years old, took the floor as foes in Portugal’s 95-89 victory.
For Queta, the qualifier was a stage to showcase his incoming leap after signing a four-year, $56 million extension with the Celtics this summer. The 27-year-old scored 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting with nine rebounds and two steals in over 24 minutes, assisting Portugal en route to its nail-biting upset. Queta grabbed five offensive boards and repeatedly outmatched Spain’s bigs with speed and strength.
In the fourth quarter, Queta secured his most notable highlight by baiting Spain’s Aday Mara with a pump-fake three, spinning past Mara and flushing a thunderous right-handed dunk to break a 71-71 tie. That sparked a 7-0 run from Portugal, forcing Spain to take a timeout with 7:55 left in regulation.
González, nearly matching Queta with more than 23 minutes on the court, struggled offensively. He finished with only three points, knocking down just one of four 3-point attempts. Yet, in typical Hugo fashion, González found alternative ways to remain impactful for Spain, including a fourth-quarter lob deflection that prevented Portugal from taking an 84-76 lead with less than six minutes remaining. González stayed composed and rose for a second consecutive contest after Portugal secured the offensive rebound, keeping the deficit at six points.
Queta’s dominance was too much for Spain to bridge, leaving a beneficial impression with over seven weeks left until Boston’s regular-season opener on Oct. 20.
Last season, Queta inherited his biggest role yet and debuted as the Celtics’ starting center after the team parted ways with Kristaps Porziņģis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet. With the spotlight on him, Queta repaid the C’s with a career-best breakout, averaging 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks across 75 starts — all career highs.
Over the summer, while Queta continued his offseason work, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla stopped by to visit him in Lisbon, Portugal — Queta’s birthplace and hometown. The visit meant a lot to Queta, who just three years earlier had been waived by the Sacramento Kings, leaving his NBA future uncertain.
“It’s surreal,” Queta told CelticsBlog’s Noa Dalzell in July. “A couple of years ago if you’d said that an NBA coach is coming to that specific gym just to see me and get to know me, I would’ve been like, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’
“Joe makes sure he wants to make that extra effort just to make sure you feel comfortable. I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s such a good coach. He worries about people, and that’s why I’d run through a wall for him.”
The past three years have been immensely rewarding for Queta. He’s gone from a little-known pickup signed by the Celtics to a two-way contract in September 2023 to an NBA champion to a first-year starter with a $56 million payday, all in the span of three years. He’s become one of the biggest developmental successes under Mazzulla’s coaching tenure, with Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens leading the front office.
With the offseason free agency signing of Mitchell Robinson to a three-year, $47.3 million contract, coupled with the reimplementation of Jayson Tatum to the lineup full-time, the decision ultimately falls on Mazzulla, Stevens, and the rest of Boston’s brass. They can either keep Queta as the team’s starting big or run Robinson at the five when the Celtics open up against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 20.
Queta and Portugal will next take on Georgia on Monday, continuing their FIBA World Cup 2027 Qualifiers campaign.
