Boston Celtics Reward Neemias Queta with Big New Contract Just Before His Birthday

Queta has fought hard to stay in the league, and has developed into a legitimate starting center who will now sign a big new deal that carries him through his prime

May 2, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) and center Neemias Queta (88) stand on the court late in the second half of their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in game seven of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Boston Celtics came into this offseason looking to shore up their center spot, and now they head into the holiday weekend having completed that task. 

Just days after agreeing to a three-year, mid-level deal with Mitchell Robinson, the Celtics agreed to a four-year deal in a similar range for Neemias Queta. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, it’s a $56 million extension that begins in the 2027-28 season. 

The Celtics picked up Queta’s team option for this year instead of a more traditional move of declining the team option and starting the extension this year. That move was made because the Celtics are still trying to stay under the tax this season in an effort to reset the repeater tax. It’s possible the fourth year of this deal is an extra one as a sort of make good for Queta playing this year on a minimum. 

The Celtics seem to be in a good financial place with their center rotation at this point. Robinson and Queta will combine to make approximately $30 million while third-string center Luka Garza is on a veteran minimum deal. That will ultimately be somewhere around 18-20% of the cap moving forward. 

Queta has established himself as a quality starting center in the league, improving by leaps and bounds over his previous seasons. Even throughout the 2025-26 season, Queta would make clear improvements as games went on. Mistakes made in November and December were corrected by January and February.

“I’m very pleased just to see his progression. He's been working hard all season long,” Jaylen Brown said of Queta back in March. “I feel like he's starting to tap into that next level. So that's big. So he's got to keep empowering that. We’re telling him when he's doing well, get him some feedback when he's not doing well.”

Queta has developed good chemistry with drivers like Payton Pritchard because of his newfound ability to roam the baseline and relocate to open up passing lanes. 

“He has a good floater from, like, the 10-foot range,” Pritchard said last season. “If I drive lower, telling him to relocate to the top, kind of where the charge circle is, and being able to hit that. And if his big man steps up, and I'm in 10-foot range, like finding a gap to catch a lob or a window to just make a quick dump. So that's through a lot of work and a lot of games together, reading that, especially him, knowing where, what spots I like to get to, and then playing off that.”

Queta turns 27 on July 13, so this birthday gift locks him up through his prime. It's a life-changing deal for Queta, who gets to cash in on one big contract in his career after getting picked in the second-round and flaming out in Sacramento after a two-way stint. He signed in Boston on a two-way and worked in the development system to become a legitimate starting center in the NBA. It's an incredible rags-to-riches story. 

“There's a ton of pressure in our system on the bigs. They have to do everything on both ends of the floor,” Joe Mazzulla said this past season. “He relishes that opportunity … he's getting better and better.”