Neemias Esdras Barbosa Queta (born 13 July 1999) is a Portuguese professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA), on a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the Stockton Kings of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

. He started playing basketball in 2009 for F.C. Barreirense and later played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Utah State Aggies The Utah State Aggies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Utah State University, located in Logan. The school fields 16 sports teams – seven men and nine women – and compete in the Mountain West Conference. Sports spon ...

. He was selected with the 39th overall pick in the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA u ...

, being the first Portuguese player ever drafted. He became the first Portuguese citizen ever to play in the NBA on December 17, 2021.

Early life and career

Queta was born in

Barreiro Barreiro may refer to: People * Bruno Barreiro (born 1965), American politician * Gustavo Barreiro (1959–2019), American politician * Manu Barreiro (born 1986), Spanish footballer Places * Barreiro, Portugal ** Barreiro Municipality, a mu ...

, Portugal to Bissau-Guinean parents Mica and Djaneuba Queta. He began playing youth basketball at age 10 with F.C. Barreirense after following his older sister to a tryout. In the 2017–18 season, Queta played four professional games for Benfica in the Portuguese Basketball League. On 31 August 2018, he parted ways with Benfica. On 29 August 2018, he signed to play

for the

in the United States, as he had no other collegiate offers.

College career

On 19 November 2018, Queta recorded a freshman season-high 24 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks in an 80–63 win over Saint Mary's. As a freshman, he averaged 11.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, earning Second Team All- Mountain West, Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. He set the program single-season record with 84 blocks. He declared for the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

before withdrawing and returning to college. Queta missed the first nine games of his sophomore season with a knee injury. As a sophomore, he averaged 13 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, repeating on the Second Team All-Mountain West and All-Defensive Team. On 17 February 2021, Queta posted a career-high 32 points and 10 rebounds in a 79–70 loss to Boise State. On 12 March, he tallied 18 points, 14 rebounds and a school-record nine blocks in a 62–50 win against Colorado State at the Mountain West tournament semifinals. In his junior season, Queta averaged 14.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.3 blocks and 2.7 assists per game. He was named to the First Team All-Mountain West and Defensive Player of the Year. Queta was one of four finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award. He broke his own program blocks record, ranked third nationally in blocks per game, and left as Utah State's all-time leader in blocks. On 29 March, Queta declared for the

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Queta was selected in the second round of the

with the 39th pick by the

, becoming the first Portuguese player to be drafted in the NBA. On August 8, 2021, he signed a

with Sacramento, splitting time with their G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings. On December 17, 2021, Queta made his NBA debut against the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, grabbing five rebounds and adding an assist and a block. He entered COVID-19 protocols on December 21, but was cleared to return to the Kings on December 30. Queta made his return to the G League on January 5, 2022, recording 21 points and 12 rebounds for Stockton in a 103-80 win over the

Birmingham Squadron The Birmingham Squadron are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Birmingham, Alabama, and are affiliated with the New Orleans Pelicans. The team plays their home games at Legacy Arena. The team began play in 201 ...

National team career

Queta represented

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

at the

2017 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B The 2017 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B was the 13th edition of the Division B of the FIBA U18 European basketball championship. It was played in Tallinn, Estonia, from 28 July to 6 August 2017. 24 teams participated in the competition ...

in Estonia, where he averaged 10.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. He competed at the

2018 FIBA U20 European Championship Division B The 2018 FIBA U20 European Championship Division B was the 14th edition of the Division B of the FIBA U20 European Championship, the second-tier level of the European Under-20 basketball championship. The tournament was played in Sofia, Bulgaria, ...

in Bulgaria, averaging 14.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. At the

2019 FIBA U20 European Championship Division B The 2019 FIBA U20 European Championship Division B was the 15th edition of the Division B of the FIBA U20 European Championship, the second-tier level of the European Under-20 basketball championship. The tournament was played in Matosinhos, Port ...

in Portugal, Queta led the host nation to a gold medal. He averaged 14.3 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks per game, earning all-tournament team honors. In the semifinals, he suffered a left knee injury that sidelined him from the final.

Career statistics

NBA

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Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 14 , , 0 , , 8.6 , , .447 , , — , , .647 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .1 , , .6 , , 3.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 14 , , 0 , , 8.6 , , .447 , , — , , .647 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .1 , , .6 , , 3.2

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

, 35 , , 35 , , 27.1 , , .614 , , .400 , , .565 , , 8.9 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , 2.4 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 22 , , 20 , , 26.7 , , .624 , , 1.000 , , .670 , , 7.8 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , 1.7 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 29 , , 30.0 , , .559 , , .000 , , .707 , , 10.1 , , 2.7 , , 1.1 , , 3.3 , , 14.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 86 , , 84 , , 28.0 , , .594 , , .375 , , .646 , , 9.0 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , 2.5 , , 13.2

References

External links

Utah State Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queta, Neemias 1999 births Living people Black Portuguese sportspeople Centers (basketball) Sportspeople from Barreiro, Portugal Portuguese expatriate basketball people in the United States Portuguese men's basketball players Portuguese people of Bissau-Guinean descent Sacramento Kings draft picks Sacramento Kings players S.L. Benfica basketball players Stockton Kings players Utah State Aggies men's basketball players F.C. Barreirense players