SACRAMENTO, Calif.— Sacramento Kings rookie Neemias Queta made history Friday night at Golden 1 Center as the first player from Portugal ever to appear in an NBA game.
Queta checked in for the first time with 1:01 remaining in the second quarter in a 124-105 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The 7-foot center came on to replace Chimezie Metu and immediately made his presence felt, blocking a shot by Grizzlies forward Kyle Anderson as time expired in the first half.
Queta went scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting, but he had four rebounds, one blocked shot and one assist in eight minutes in his first NBA game.
“It’s a great accomplishment just to be able to get on the floor and get some reps in and be able to play,” Queta said. “It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been dreaming of this day since I started playing basketball and I’m really happy that it happened today.”
The Kings selected Queta, 22, out of Utah State with the 39th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft.
He has appeared in 11 games for the G League Stockton Kings — averaging 15.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks — but he didn’t make his NBA debut until Friday.
Acting Kings coach Doug Christie was pleased with Queta’s performance. Christie praised general manager Monte McNair and assistant general manager Wes Wilcox for targeting Queta in the draft.
“I’m a big fan,” Christie said. “I have been since I saw the kid in training camp. I think that Monte and Wes and everybody did a great job with this one. I think Neemy can be a really, really good player.”
Teammates said they were thrilled to see Queta make history in his homeland. “I’m excited for him,” Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “We talked about it pregame, how much it meant to him, the fact that he had an opportunity to make history tonight, and it’s something you can’t take back. He’s a legend for his country and it’s pretty cool that it happened for him.”
The Kings activated Queta to fill out their roster after several players entered NBA health and safety protocols amid a COVID-19 outbreak in Sacramento. Marvin Bagley III, Terence Davis, De’Aaron Fox, Louis King, Alex Len and Davion Mitchell were all ruled out because of health and safety protocols.
Richaun Holmes missed his fifth game with an eye injury.
Queta was born in Barreiro, Portugal. He played professionally for SL Benfica in the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetbol and helped the Portuguese U-20 national team win a gold medal at the FIBA U-20 European Championship B.
Utah State was one of the few schools that recruited Queta, a 7-foot-½ inch, 248-pound center with a 7-4 wingspan. He quickly established himself as a dominant force in the Mountain West Conference.
He was a two-time Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year at Utah State, where he averaged 14.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.3 blocks and 2.7 assists in 30 minutes per game last season.
Queta blocked 97 shots in 29 games, averaging 6.4 blocks per 100 possessions. He had nine blocks against Colorado State in a Mountain West Conference Tournament game and seven against Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament.
“I see the potential to play through him at the elbow,” Christie said. “He can make all the passes. He’s not afraid. He protects the rim. He can knock down jump shots. … This is a perfect time for him to wet his feet and see what it’s all about.”
