Celtics center Neemias Queta was ejected from an elimination game at EuroBasket 2025 for a celebration that officials deemed excessive.
Playing for his native Portugal on Wednesday, Queta yelled and flexed after a tough inside finish over an Estonian player. The bucket gave Portugal a 38-37 lead midway through the third quarter but resulted in a technical foul on Queta.
Because it was the 7-footer’s second technical of the game — he’d picked up his first just one minute earlier — he was disqualified and sent to the locker room.
This is the play that got Neemias Queta ejected pic.twitter.com/8MiZeYz7O5
— Ian Inangelo (@iinangelo) September 3, 2025
Queta, the only NBA player on the Portuguese roster, tallied 15 points, three rebounds, one block and one steal before his ejection, shooting 5-for-8 from the field and 5-for-10 from the free-throw line. He entered the game as Portugal’s leader in points, rebounds and blocks in Europe’s marquee basketball tournament.
Despite Queta’s early exit, Portugal held on to defeat Estonia 68-65 and advance to the EuroBasket knockout rounds for the first time. Portugal finished group play 2-3 with wins over Czechia and Estonia and losses to Serbia, Turkey and Latvia.
The latter three nations — led by Nikola Jokic, Alperen Sengun and ex-Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis, respectively — also advanced to the Round of 16, which begins Saturday in Riga, Latvia. Porzingis praised Queta after their matchup on Monday, though he questioned whether his former teammate is ready to step into a starting role for the Celtics this season.
“What I will say is Neemi has been getting better each year, and Coach (Joe) Mazzulla has been pretty tough on him,” Porzingis told reporters. “I believe that 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. I’m happy for Neemi. He’s a great, great dude, really cool person, and puts in the time, puts in the work. I’ll be happy to see him getting a lot more minutes this year.”
Originally Published: September 3, 2025 at 9:57 AM EDT