In June, while the NBA Finals and the Liga Betclic Finals were taking place, Neemias Queta had the opportunity to show Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla around Lisbon, Benfica and Barreiro, where Queta grew up and played. What did Mazzulla tell him about what he saw in Portugal and Portuguese basketball? “I think he liked what he saw. He said there are people who can make it there if they really want to work hard. And I think he really loved Portugal. I think the thing he liked the most was the food. It was a good time. He came alone, but he said next year he’s coming with his wife and kids. We’ll welcome them with open arms,” Queta revealed. As for his expectations for the Celtics next season, Queta expects them to “be competitive again.” “People have already started saying again that the other teams are the good ones and that we don’t have enough quality. But I think, with the group we have, the people we have in the locker room? And our coach?”
More on Neemias Queta: Recent HoopsHype RumorsMitchell Robinson was with the Knicks. He's now going to be your teammate and you'll be rotating with him at center. He's someone you enjoyed playing against, someone who pushed you, or someone who… Neemias Queta: "What I appreciate is not having to box out against him because it was very difficult. He's a very strong, very agile player, capable of going in and winning almost every offensive rebound. Having a player of this level, who defends so well and can cause so much trouble on the offensive boards, will be very good because we are quite similar basketball players and we can bring many similar things to the team, which is essential." — 7/29/2026 A Bola
With the new salary coming up, would it be easier to spend $100,000 [ €88,000 ] to train for a week with Hakeem Olajuwon on post movements? Is that something you would like to do? Neemias Queta: I'm cheap. No, I don't spend $100,000 on training. Not even with Hakeem Olajuwon? Neemias Queta: Not even with Hakeem Olajuwon. — 7/29/2026 A Bola
And is there any dream that this contract might allow? And can you tell me what it is that you want to offer me? Neemias Queta: "My dream is to have my own house. A dream house. To create my own space, my own world. But I think I'll be patient with it, I don't want to rush it. It's a project that will take a long time, and when it happens, hopefully it will be successful." — 7/29/2026 A Bola
Let's talk about the new contract with the Celtics. Four seasons for $56 million, which is €49 million. What does it mean to you beyond the money? What did this recognition express? "Yes, for me, the money wasn't the most important thing at all. The most important thing was knowing that Boston believed in me for another four years. I'll be able to continue calling Boston home for that entire time, without having to look over my shoulder. Without having to worry about the next season. What I wanted or what would happen. There's uncertainty when you're a free agent. It creates certain difficulties in terms of knowing how to manage the year, injuries and everything else, and I didn't want to be thinking about that. It was very good for me and I feel flattered to have that confidence from the front office . " — 7/29/2026 A Bola
NBA star Neemias Queta will lead Portugal’s team in the upcoming FIBA WC Qualifiers window. Portugal successfully completed the first part of the qualifiers with a record of 3-3 and is awaiting the start of the second round. In the first window, they will visit Spain on August 28 and host Georgia on August 31. — 7/28/2026 EuroHoops.net
Bobby Krivitsky: I asked Neemias Queta how rewarding it was to sign his brand new contract extension and how much of a motivator that is for him as he builds off last season’s evolution. “It’s been a long time, I’ve been really wishing for something like that to happen.” — 7/11/2026 x.com
Neemias Queta, who has been teammates with Brown for three years, also spoke to reporters on Friday night for the first time since the trade. “It’s not easy,” Queta said. “I think you feel for him. Obviously, it wasn’t easy for him as well. But at the end of the day, it’s part of the business. You know what’s happening. You know it can happen at any moment. But Jaylen’s a guy that you can’t replace in the city. Really, really hard to replace on the court as well. He did so much for Boston in general, and he will definitely be missed.” — 7/11/2026 Celtics Blog
At the beginning of June, Mazzulla flew to Lisbon to work out with Neemias Queta in the gym where he first learned how to play the game he now excels at. That came just a few weeks before Queta signed a long-term extension with the franchise. Mazzulla rebounded for Queta at the Futebol Clube Barreirense, the first club in which Queta ever played basketball. “It’s just surreal,” Queta said. “A couple years ago, if you had said an NBA coach is coming to that specific gym just to see me and get to know me, I would have been like, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’ Joe makes sure — he wants to make that extra step, extra effort, just to make sure you feel comfortable. And I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s such a good coach. He worries about people, and that’s why I’m running through a wall for him.” — 7/11/2026 Celtics Blog
In early July, Mazzulla was on the other side of the world, supporting Hugo Gonzalez in the World Cup qualifying tournament in Madrid, Spain. “We went out to dinner a couple times,” Gonzalez said. “He went to every practice — so really, really grateful that he was willing to be there.” Knowing that Mazzulla is a big soccer fan, Gonzalez took him to the Bernabéu, the second-largest football arena in the country, as well as other notable venues. “I try to show him where I’ve been eight or nine years of my life,” Gonzalez said. “The ones who built me as a player, and he wanted to know it, so I just showed him Valdebebas, [which] is like the Auerbach Center of Real Madrid.” — 7/11/2026 Celtics Blog
Walsh was (positively) caught off guard when Mazzulla first initiated the visit. “I was definitely surprised,” Walsh recalled with a smile. “Like, what the hell does Joe want? But it was cool. It was so cool that he was making that kind of effort to come see me.” Walsh joked he kept Mazzulla out of the trouble: “I kept him in the good part of the city, where it’s good food, good people. He didn’t get to experience the other side. Maybe one day.” — 7/11/2026 Celtics Blog
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Neemias Queta pushes back on Celtics doubters: 'We'll be competitive again'
Leave a Comment