Neemias Queta
Neemias Esdras Barbosa Queta, born on July 13, 1999, in Lisbon, Portugal, is a Portuguese basketball player. Standing at 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) and weighing 112 kg (247 lb), he plays as a center and is known by the nicknames “Neemi Quetão” and “Portuguese G.O.A.T.”. Neemias Queta’s professional career began in Portugal, where he played for FC Barreirense and SL Benfica between 2011 and 2018. In the 2017-2018 season, he played 29 games for Benfica’s B-team in the Proliga and four games for the main team in the Portuguese Basketball League. Subsequently, he played college basketball in the United States for Utah State from 2018 to 2021. In 2021, Neemias Queta made history by being the first Portuguese player to be drafted into the NBA, the first to play in the NBA, and subsequently, the first to become an NBA champion. He played for the Sacramento Kings from 2021 to 2023, also playing for the Stockton Kings in the G-League during that period. In August 2023, he signed a standard contract with the Sacramento Kings but was waived in September of the same year. In 2023, he joined the Boston Celtics and also played for the Maine Celtics, their G-League affiliate team. In 2022, he was named Personality of the Year by the Portuguese Basketball Federation. Neemias Queta has also represented the Portuguese national team in various categories, including Portugal U-18 (2017), Portugal U-20 (2018-2019), and the senior Portuguese national team (2022-present), where he won a gold medal at the FIBA U-20 European Championship in 2019. Son of Guinean parents, Neemias Queta is a prominent figure in Portuguese and international basketball.
