Former Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis, who was traded to Atlanta earlier this summer, has high praise for one of his ex-teammates in Boston. In a EuroBasket group play encounter this week, Porzingis led his native Latvia to a 78-62 blowout victory over Neemias Queta‘s home country of Portugal.
Porzingis scored 21 points, grabbed nine boards, dished out three dimes, and blocked one shot. Queta, however, held his own against his former teammate, registering 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and a block. As Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews relays, Porzingis lauded Queta for his recent growth.
“Nimi has been getting better each year,” Porzingis said. “And Coach [Joe] Mazzulla has been pretty tough on him. And I believe he’s getting to a point where he deserves some real minutes, some real rotation minutes.”
Queta will likely compete with new signings Chris Boucher and Luka Garza and fellow holdover Xavier Tillman for minutes at the five spot.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- With training camp fast approaching for the new-look Celtics, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston polled a panel of colleagues about their top questions and concerns ahead of the team’s 2025/26 season. Boston will be without injured All-Star forward Jayson Tatum and former starters Porzingis and Jrue Holiday — both of whom were traded away to save money. Third-string center Luke Kornet left in free agency, while sixth man big Al Horford is still unsigned. Questions about Celtics president Brad Stevens‘ team building, Joe Mazzulla‘s ability to coach up a non-championship roster, and more popped up.
- The Knicks are hiring former L.A. Clippers director of international pro scouting Ermal Kuqo to serve as their senior director of minor league operations, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
- In case you missed it, Sixers guard Jared McCain has indicated that he expects to be available when Philadelphia’s training camp opens up later this month.