Neemias Queta already turned heads with the season he put together for the Celtics, but the next step might be even more interesting. Boston trusted him enough to elevate him into the starting center spot, then backed that belief with the richest contract of his career. In return, Queta delivered what looked like a legitimate Most Improved Player push.
That breakout came with one major caveat: it happened largely without Jayson Tatum. And now that Tatum is set to be healthier, Queta may be positioned to cash in on the kind of partnership that can lift his game even higher.
There’s plenty of curiosity around how Tatum will look when next season opens. He reportedly wasn’t far off from his old level after tearing his Achilles, but getting back to full rhythm with teammates is its own process.
He needs reps. He needs time.
And he needs to rebuild comfort with a Celtics group that looks different from the one he last played with in 2025.
Even so, the early signs with Queta were strong. His production didn’t swing wildly when Tatum returned, but the two bigs clearly found something together right away.
Their fit was obvious in the numbers, too. According to NBA.com, Queta logged more minutes with Tatum than anyone else besides Derrick White, and their two-man net rating checked in at plus-14.6.
That matters because Queta was already one of Boston’s best development stories under Joe Mazzulla before Tatum got back into the mix. The sample size together is still small, but the Celtics seem to believe there’s real juice there. And in a few months, Queta gets to work with Tatum without any restrictions at all.
That’s why another MIP run doesn’t sound so far-fetched, even if it sounds a little wild at first. Queta finished fourth in the voting behind Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Duren, and Deni Avdija, and that came mostly in a Tatum-less stretch. Still, Tatum has a long track record of making life easier for the bigs around him.
Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Robert Williams III, Luke Kornet, Daniel Theis, and even Enes Freedom all come to mind in that regard. Queta may not end up being the best big Tatum has ever played with, but he could be one of the most impactful.
He already took a major leap on his own. Now he may get the ideal partner to help him take another one.
In Other News...
Derrick White Still Has One Big Thing To Fix For Boston
Derrick Whites value to Boston has never really been in doubt. He remains the kind of all-around defender and connective piece the Celtics can build around, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN recently reported that the team even believed White had a better season than Jaylen Brown in 2025-26, a view that lines up with the way many around the league see him as a better value player. His ability to fit into almost any lineup has kept him central to Bostons success, especially as one of the teams most reliable glue guys.
Still, there is one area the Celtics need to watch closely if they want to contend again. Whites offensive efficiency dipped, with his shooting percentages slipping in both the regular season and the playoffs, and that matters for a player whose impact is supposed to stretch beyond defense and versatility. Boston can live with White doing a little of everything, but for him to keep the Celtics on the championship track, the shot has to come back. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Took A Late Swing On Chris Cenac Jr For One Reason
Bostons late first-round swing on Chris Cenac Jr. came with the kind of profile the Celtics like to bet on: a highly regarded center out of Houston, a player with real tools and a runway to grow. At 27th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Celtics added a big man who already flashed some of the traits that can matter in their system, and his early Summer League work has only added to the sense that there is something worth developing here.
Cenacs college coach, Kelvin Sampson, sounded comfortable with the fit, pointing to the Celtics culture and coaching staff as the kind of environment that can turn promise into production. That matters for a team making a late swing on a young center, because the path is usually about patience, teaching and opportunity, and Cenac has already shown enough in Summer League to keep the conversation going. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Nearly Took A Very Different Path In The Jays Era
Before the Celtics' current core settled into place, Boston was already circling a very different kind of move. In 2017, the team engaged in serious trade talks with Indiana for Paul George, who was on an expiring contract and had made it clear he wanted out. At the time, it was the kind of swing that could have changed the entire direction of the franchise as the Jays era was beginning to take shape.
Instead, George landed in Oklahoma City, and Boston kept building along another route with Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving. It is easy now to look back and wonder how different the roster choices would have looked if the Celtics had landed George, especially with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown still early in their development. The alternate path is what makes this one linger. [Read more 🡒]