Before the season, Neemias Queta told his agent he believed winning the Most Improved Player Award was doable.
With Kristaps Porzingis traded and Al Horford and Luke Kornet leaving in free agency, head coach Joe Mazzulla had called Queta to tell him that he would be the team’s starting center.
Having made just six starts in his first 110 career games over four seasons, Queta finally got the opportunity he had dreamed of. And he’s made the most of it, and then some, exceeding expectations and proving he belongs in the Most Improved Player conversation.
“Neemi has been great. He’s been just consistently getting better. Protecting the rim, finishing, making those little shots, rebounding,” Jaylen Brown said. “In my opinion, he’s probably one of the most improved players this year. I don’t know if he’s up for the award, but he should be.”
Jaylen Brown on Neemias Queta:
“Neemi has been great. He's been just consistently getting better… In my opinion, he's probably one of the most improved players this year. I don't know if he's up for the award, but he should be.” pic.twitter.com/tvB1Y0k91h
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) April 5, 2026
Night after night, the Celtics know what they’re getting from Queta.
In Sunday’s 115-101 win over the Raptors, a team Boston could very well see in the first round of the playoffs in less than two weeks, Queta scored 18 points (9-of-10 FG), grabbed seven rebounds, added four assists, and blocked three shots, registering a +30 in a 14-point victory. It marked his fourth straight game with at least 16 points, setting a new career-high for consecutive games in double figures. The Celtics improved to 29-7 when he reaches double figures.
As he continues to stack up dominant performances, that preseason goal is still on his mind.
“I think about it all the time. I feel like I’ve made a good case for it. But, like we say, there is stuff that we can’t control. At the end of the day, I’m just helping the team win. That’s my main goal," Queta said. "Obviously, that’s secondary, the Most Improved. I’m just glad I’m helping my teammates get to the spot we’re in right now. And whether I win it or I don’t win it, it’s not going to change my perspective and the approach I take every night.”
Neemias Queta on if he has thought about winning Most Improved:
“Yeah. I think about it all the time. I feel like I’ve made a good case for it… At the end of the day, I'm just helping the team win. That's my main goal. Obviously, that's secondary, The Most Improved.” https://t.co/84PATawdKe pic.twitter.com/9X0hAHyAIy
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) April 5, 2026
While Queta may get a few votes, it’s a long shot that he actually wins it. Even after his brilliant performance against the Raptors, he isn’t listed on major sportsbooks’ boards, which is surprising given how much his improvement has contributed to the Celtics’ success.
He’s averaging 10.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game, nearly doubling his previous career highs. He has 16 double-doubles this season, with the Celtics going 14-2 in those games, compared to just two in his career entering the year.
In 73 games, he’s already surpassed his combined totals in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks from his first 110 career games. The Celtics are +464 with Queta on the floor this season, trailing only Derrick White (+565) for the team’s highest mark.
“The connectivity is just much higher. I think his understanding has grown. And just the feel for the game,” added Brown. “Early in the season, it just felt like when you would have a conversation – it just wasn’t connecting. It just seems like everything is connecting with him. He’s just got a good feel for the game; he sees where he needs to be, and it’s been really great for our team this year. It’s been a privilege to watch the growth from the start of the season to where he’s at now. It’s like night and day, almost.”
The advanced numbers are even more favorable.
The Celtics, 53-25 with the fourth-best net rating in the NBA (8.2), outscore opponents by 13.1 points per 100 possessions with Queta on the floor, a team-best. Off the floor, that drops to 3.7. Among players with at least 60 games played, his 13.1 net rating trails only Victor Wembanyama (17.0), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (15.3), and Chet Holmgren (14.7), thus leading the Eastern Conference.
He has also become one of the league’s best screeners, with 264 screen assists, second in the NBA only to Rudy Gobert (294).
“Just his ability, his screening, and his reads opens it up for all of us,” Mazzulla said, “because we can run our actions, we can see the 2-on-1s, we can make the right play, and he’s just been doing a great job of that.”
There is undoubtedly a case to be made.
But even if he doesn’t win the George Mikan Trophy, which no Celtic has ever won since the Most Improved Player Award’s inception in 1985-86, the Celtics wouldn’t be in this spot, competing for the only trophy that matters, the Larry O’Brien Trophy, without Queta and his development.
If Boston goes on a run this spring, Queta will play a massive role, just as he has all season long.
