Neemias Queta has been quietly (but powerfully) constructing his presence in a season in which the Boston Celtics have effectively steamrolled themselves to the No. 2 seed in the East. Yes, he isn’t the most fashionable name on the roster, but when Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown sit out, can we expect double-digit scoring and big man muscle? Yes, we absolutely can.

But as Celtics fans watch this 7-footer swat shots and snag rebounds like it’s second nature, more and more people are asking the same thing: Who exactly is Neemias Queta? Where did he come from? What’s behind the calm, cool, and collected guy who’s becoming a reliable weapon off Boston’s bench?

Well, it turns out the man has one heck of a backstory—and it’s time we peel back the curtain on the Celtics’ secret weapon.

What is Neemias Queta’s Ethnicity?

Let’s start at the beginning—Neemias Queta was born in Lisbon, Portugal. But don’t let the European passport fool you. His roots run deep through the red soil and warm spirit of West Africa. Both his parents, Mica and Djaneuba Queta, hail from Guinea-Bissau, giving Neemias a rich Bissau-Guinean heritage that’s core to his identity.

Vale da Amoreira, the working-class neighborhood in Moita where he was raised, is a clash of cultures. For Queta, it was in the tight streets and the immigrant hustle that he got his foundation. Soccer balls on concrete courts, late night hoops with dreams much larger than backboards. It wasn’t glamorous, but it built him.

And now? He’s not just living that dream, he’s rewriting that dream. He is the first ever Portuguese player to be drafted into the NBA when the Sacramento Kings took him in 2021. That’s not some resume bullet; that’s legacy stuff. Now with the Boston Celtics, still looking like a man possessed as he shows exactly why that history is an important thing.

Queta was moved from a two-way contract to a full NBA deal in April 2024 and made fans and insiders sit up and notice. From there, he’s done double-doubles, he’s dropped 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks in 25 minutes against the Magic recently. Sure, the Celtics lost that game, but Queta, besides being a backup big, more than demonstrated he was ready for extended minutes. He’s a difference-maker.

What is Neemias Queta’s Religion?

But it gets weird again: Neemias Queta is serious, focused, grounded, competitive, and, for some reason, when it comes to religion. He ladles it up real heavy like the paint at TD Garden.

He doesn’t mention his beliefs straight away on interviews, tweets, or Instagram stories. No postgame quotes and no symbolic tattoos with the faint suggestion of faith. Just silence. In the age of oversharing, that kind of privacy? It’s rare and powerful in a kind of way.

So what could we guess? Guinea-Bissau is a mixture of Muslim and Christian communities. Queta was brought up in Portugal, a country which is a stronghold of the Catholic faith. He could very well belong to one of those faiths—or any other. And all this is nothing but respectful speculation until he decides to speak on it.

But what is clear is that whatever Queta believes in is feeding his calm confidence. Setbacks like his non-COVID illness that benched him for a game against the Knicks, he’s been through, and each time, he bounces back. No drama. Just consistency. And quiet dominance.

Neemias Queta isn’t chasing headlines, but somehow, he keeps landing in them. His story isn’t loud, but it’s loud enough when you look at what he’s overcome. From Lisbon playgrounds to TD Garden playoff prep, he’s doing more than just holding down a depth role—he’s thriving in it.

As Boston heads into the postseason with a stacked 59–21 record, Queta could be the X-factor nobody saw coming. Tatum and Brown will get the spotlight. But when the minutes matter and the paint gets crowded, don’t be surprised if Queta’s the one cleaning up the glass and altering shots.

Portuguese pride. West African roots. A whole lot of Celtics grit.

Neemias Queta isn’t just part of the roster. He’s part of the story.