Cascais (Portugal), Aug 13 (EFE).- Boston Celtics center Neemías Queta, the first Portuguese player to reach the NBA, said he sees himself winning more championships and being “a very important player for the team,” after winning his 18th ring with his team this season in June.
This was stated on Tuesday to EFE during the Neemías Queta Training Camp, a basketball camp for children that began today and will end on Friday at the Quinta dos Lombos pavilion, in Carcavelos, on the outskirts of Lisbon.
Looking ahead to next season, Queta said he wants, above all, to maintain the same level, since after winning the tournament he is aware that everyone will be watching the Celtics, because “they are the team to beat.”
Originally from Barreiro, on the outskirts of Lisbon, Neemías Esdras Barbosa Queta, 25 years old and 2.13 metres tall, studied at Utah State University (USA), where he already stood out for his qualities as a player.
In 2021 he was selected by the Sacramento Kings, becoming the first Portuguese basketball player to enter the NBA, and in 2023 he landed with the Boston Celtics.
Queta told EFE that playing in the NBA has been a “very good” experience for him: “I always say that it was a dream since I was a child,” said the player, who expressed his gratitude for the support he receives from Portugal.
Her adaptation to life in the US and to the most important tournament in the world was “relatively easy.”
“I had good help and good people from the beginning when I went to university who practically showed me the way and what was necessary, what was worth doing there and, from there, it was about dealing with that, with the added bonus that I only wanted to play basketball, although I had to study,” said the player, of Guinean origin, who assured that he never changed his routines.
At the Boston Celtics, he has as an ally the American Payton Pritchard, with whom he maintains “a strong friendship” on and off the court.
Asked about returning to Europe and Portugal one day, he said he had not thought much about it, because he sees that he has “many years of career ahead of him” and that will be a decision he will make in the future.
During the four days of the camp that bears his name, Queta wants to teach the children technical aspects and specific things if he sees that there is something they can improve.
“I want to develop because you never know if I can be a coach or something like that in the future,” he said, “and starting with young players is always rewarding, they are hungrier, so I want to learn a little bit from them, while they learn with me.”
A total of 40 children, including eight girls, between the ages of 13 and 17 are taking part in the first edition of this camp, organised by Hoopers Club and whose technical director is Carlos Barroca, former Vice President of Operations for NBA Asia.
Barroca told EFE that for Portugal “it is very important” to have a player in the NBA, so what Queta is doing with this initiative is giving back to the country the fame it has received and “encouraging” young people to have dreams.
However, she stressed that the motto of the camp is “learn and enjoy”, because beyond acquiring new knowledge they also have to have a good time, create new relationships and friends.