Kings’ Neemias Queta shows ‘scary’ potential before leaving win over Pacers with injury
Kings center Neemias Queta was on his way to a big game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday in the Las Vegas Summer League before he was sidelined due to injury.
Queta scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting with seven rebounds and four blocked shots in just 16 minutes to help the Kings beat the Pacers 103-96 at Cox Pavilion.
Queta left the game in the third quarter and went back to the locker room to get checked out. He eventually rejoined his teammates on the bench, but the Kings announced he would not return to the game due to left calf soreness.
Kings summer league coach Jordi Fernandez said the team is “optimistic” about Queta’s prognosis, adding he will be reevaluated over the next couple of days. The Kings will have Monday and Tuesday off before facing No. 2 draft pick Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
Sacramento selected Queta out of Utah State with the 39th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. He recently agreed to a second one-year, two-way contract with the Kings after splitting time last season between Sacramento and G League Stockton. Despite the short-term contract situation, Fernandez believes Queta could be part of the team’s long-term plans.
“He’s improved,” Fernandez said. “He is a good NBA player and he is part of our club and our future. His willingness to do the right thing is what matters the most. He’s a great, great guy, and all these guys love him for how hard he plays.”
Queta, who became the first player from Portugal to appear in an NBA game last season, said he knows he’s still a work in progress entering his second season with the Kings.
“Whenever coaches put me in tougher situations, I just want to keep learning from that and keep on growing from those experiences,” Queta said.
Queta sometimes has a tendency to commit too many turnovers and fouls, but he also has displayed extraordinary rim protection and remarkable footwork for a 7-foot-tall, 245-pound center.
“You can tell that the more basketball he plays, the better he is,” Fernandez said. “You don’t see players that big who can move their feet and be that impactful.”
Teammates have been impressed with Queta, too.
“He’s got a bright future,” Kings point guard Frank Ferrari said. “I think he’ll have a long NBA career. … He was a two-way guy last year. I played against him in the G League. He really belongs here and I want him to understand and believe that. The more and more he gets better, and the more and more he progresses, it’s going to be scary, so I’m looking forward to watching him.”
In the first quarter of Sunday’s game, Queta confidently knocked down an open 3-pointer and then blocked shots by Terry Taylor and Bennedict Mathurin, all in a span of 1:08. In the second quarter, he recorded two blocks in five seconds, turning away Duane Washington Jr. and Isaiah Jackson on the same possession.
“He’s a really cool guy to be around, a guy I’ve really connected with off the court, and on the court, he’s just scratching the surface of what he can be,” Kings rookie Keegan Murray said. “There was a sequence where he blocked two shots on one possession, so you can just see what he can be.”
