Kristaps Porzingis Calls for Celtics Young Big to Get 'Real Minutes' This Season

Former Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porginzis recently had some very complementary things sto say about his ex-teammate Neemias Queta.

Porzingis, now with the Atlanta Hawks, faced off versus Queta recently in this year's installment of the EuroBasket tournament. Porzingis represents his native Latvia, while Queta plays for Portugal.

In the 78-62 win over the Portuguese team, Porzingis was dominant — scoring 21 points and registering nine rebounds. Queta wasn't bad either, as he scored 16 points to go along with seven rebounds and two steals.

Porzingis was asked about Neemias Queta starting for the Celtics today after Latvia/Portugal: “Starter? Good question. Who else is there? Honestly, I haven’t really thought about their roster. But what I can say is that Neemy has been getting better every year.…” (1/2)
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) September 2, 2025

After the game, Porzingis was asked about Queta — to which he was highly effusive in his praise of the athletic big man.

"But what I will say is [Queta] has been getting better each year. And Coach Mazzulla has been pretty tough on him," Porzingis said, per Bobby Manning of Celtics On CLNS. "And I believe he's getting to a point where he deserves some real minutes, some real rotation minutes."

"He's been putting in the work. And you can see how he's playing now in the tournament. And I'm happy for Nimi," Porzingis added. "He's a great, great dude. Really, like, really cool person. And puts in the time, puts in the work. And I'll be happy to see him getting a lot more minutes this year."

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Queta has been somewhat of a revelation for Portugal. He's been the team's best player — demonstrating some scoring in the post to go along with some excellent rim protection.

Porzingis cont: “I’m happy for Neemy. He’s a great dude, really cool person. He puts in the time, he puts in the work, and I’ll be glad to see him get a lot more minutes this year."
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) September 2, 2025

It will be fascinating, as Porzingis alluded to, what the Celtics do in terms of the starting center spot. The rotation will look hugely different from last year, Porzingis, Luke Kornet, and Al Horford are all gone from the group.

Boston's New-Look Frontcourt

Their collective space includes Queta, Luka Garza, Chris Boucher, and Xavier Tillman. While none of these players scream 'starting center' in today's NBA, Queta likely has the highest upside of the bunch.

Portugal's draw at EuroBasket allowed Neemias Queta to challenge himself vs. Jokic, Sengun, & Porzingis.

He & the Celtics couldn't ask for a better way to ready Queta for what's in front of him. More on that & takeaways from his EuroBasket performance ⬇️pic.twitter.com/IQUlQXL6gA
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) September 2, 2025

Physically bigger than Boucher and Tillman, and far more bouncy than Garza, there's a world where the rugged center is asked to simply rebound, play positional defense, block shots, and dunk as a rim-running threat.

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It could be the first time in which Queta is giving a long enough runway to show what he can do. With Jayson Tatum sidelined with an Achilles, expectations in Beantown are tempered briefly.

As such, Queta should be able to play freely and with confidence, and in return the Celtics may be unearthing a playable center once Tatum comes back healthy.

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