Celtics center Neemias Queta gets $56 million extension after breakout season
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The gist
Portuguese Celtics center Neemias Queta signed a four-year, $56 million extension after averaging 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds.
Boston is now testing a double-big pairing of Queta and Mitchell Robinson.
Background
Neemias Queta is a 27-year-old Portuguese center for the Boston Celtics, picked 39th in the 2021 NBA Draft and a ring winner with the 2023-24 Celtics. He struggled for consistent minutes in his first two seasons in Boston before breaking out in 2025-26, when he moved into the starting lineup after the Celtics traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks in a three-team deal. Boston signed Mitchell Robinson in the offseason as what one outlet called "Queta insurance," and the two big men are now being paired together.
How it unfolded
- 2021Queta is selected 39th overall in the NBA Draft.
- 2023 -24He wins a championship ring with the Celtics.
- 2025 -26He becomes a starter after front-court changes, averaging career highs of 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 blocks in 76 games, starting 75 and shooting 65.3 percent from the field.
- Oct 14, 2026In a 114-93 preseason win over Charlotte at TD Garden, Queta scores 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 24 minutes; coach Joe Mazzulla opens the second quarter with both Robinson and Queta on the floor, a lineup never practiced before.
- Oct 15, 2026Former Celtics star Isaiah Thomas, now a team scout, tweets that Queta has "gotten better" after working with him over the summer; Queta says the Robinson pairing gives Boston "a lot of presence in the paint."
- Oct 17, 2026The Sporting News ranks Queta 19th among centers for 2026-27, between Myles Turner and Kristaps Porzingis.
- Oct 19, 2026ESPN's Zach Kram predicts Robinson and Queta together will produce the value of a top-five center.
- Oct 20, 2026Queta is listed as coming off the bench.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- The Sporting News' Steph Noh writes that Queta "came from out of nowhere to become a solid starting center," citing energy, offensive rebounding, defense and finishing at the rim.
- Bold call
- ESPN's Zach Kram predicts Robinson and Queta will combine to produce the value of a top-five center, saying neither is an All-Star alone but the partnership could be All-Star-caliber in Mazzulla's system.
- Support
- Isaiah Thomas, now a Celtics scout, says after working with Queta over the summer that "man he's gotten better."
- Caution
- Queta has tried three-pointers in preseason, but one assessment says a reliable stretch option is "not happening right now, and it might not ever."
Still unverified
Whether Queta can become a reliable three-point shooting option is disputed: he hoisted a few threes in preseason, but one assessment says a viable stretch role is "not happening right now, and it might not ever."