Neemias Queta begins EuroBasket: how to watch and what to know

Neemias Queta (and Portugal) take on the Czech Republic on Wednesday.

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Neemias Queta, who is likely to be the Celtics’ starting center, officially begins EuroBasket play on Wednesday. The 26-year-old will represent Portugal, one of 24 teams competing in EuroBasket. Queta is the first NBA player to ever hail from Portugal.

EuroBasket is Europe’s premier national basketball tournament, hosted every four years. The tournament begins on August 27th and wraps up on September 14th.

Portugal’s EuroBasket schedule

Portugal currently has five games on the schedule, and gameplay begins on Wednesday morning.

Here is the full schedule:

Wednesday, August 27th at 7:45am against the Czech Republic
Friday, August 29th at 2:15pm against Serbia
Saturday, August 30th at 2:15pm against Turkey
Monday, September 1st at 11am against Latvia
Wednesday, September 3rd at 7:45am against Estonia

These five games will determine seeding for the knockout stage, which begins on Saturday, September 6th. Of the 24 teams in the tournament, 16 will qualify for this round.

The Quarter-Finals, which will include 8 teams, will take place on Tuesday, September 9th, and the Semi-Finals on Friday, September 12th.

The Finals, in addition to a third-place match, will take place on Sunday, September 14th.

Queta will face Kristaps Porzingis and other top NBA post players

Several top-level NBA players will partake in the upcoming EuroBasket tournament, a list that includes Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Luka Doncic (Slovenia), Franz Wagner (Germany), Alperen Sengun (Turkey), Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia), Lauri Markkanen (Finland), Deni Avdija (Israel), and Santi Aldama (Spain).

As Portugal’s starting center, Queta will have the opportunity to match up against several of the tournament’s bigs — including Jokic on Friday afternoon, Sengun on Saturday, and Porzingis on Monday.

Historically, Portugal hasn’t been a dominant EuroBasket team and has never placed in the tournament.

Spain, on the other hand, has won EuroBasket four of the last six times, including most recently, in 2022. But Portugal beat Spain earlier this month in an exhibition game, indicating they could be more competitive than they’ve been in previous seasons.