In the last month, the hype and buzz around NBA awards started to pick up, and thanks to his amazing play and leadership all season, Jaylen Brown worked his way into the MVP conversation. It has been very cool to see Jaylen receive the recognition for all the hard work he has put in over the course of his career, and it couldn’t be more well-deserved.
At the same time, in certain corners of the media, the discourse has taken an ugly turn (what a shocker), and along with the territory, people have nitpicked JB’s game and used his efficiency, his on/off numbers, and other metrics to tear him down. He’s not going to win MVP, and that’s fine, but the way some people talk about him, you’d think he was holding the team back.
But other members of the Celtics should be getting awards buzz, and it’s simply not happening, notably in the case of Neemias Queta and the Most Improved Player Award. Neemy spent most of his first three seasons in the pros playing in the G League on a two-way contract for the Kings and Celtics.
Neemias Queta is the most improved player in the NBA
He got a standard contract last season with Boston and had some nice moments, but he played sparingly behind Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Kristaps Porzingis, and was nowhere near the playoff rotation.
Coming into this season, he had just six career starts under his belt, but since day one, Queta has been an above-average starting center this season, and he has only gotten better as he gets more confidence and experience.
Through 57 games, Big Neem is averaging 10.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 25 minutes per game. His 12.5 net rating is 8th in the NBA, behind only Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren for big men, and just ahead of Nikola Jokic.
Queta has been the anchor of an elite defense
He has been a mainstay down low for this team, a steadying presence on both ends, and a huge part of the team’s success this year with the league’s 2nd-best offense and 5th-best defense. Everyone thought the frontcourt would be a major weakness, and instead, it has turned into a strength, and the emergence of Queta is the main reason why.
And yet, he’s generating zero buzz for the MIP Award, as the favorites include players like Deni Avdija, Jalen Johnson, Keyonte George, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Duren, and others, with Neemy’s name nowhere near the list of players with odds even offered by DraftKings and other sports books.
Those players are all good, and you could argue that maybe they are as good or better than Queta, but their improvements are largely linear. They were all good role players, budding stars, or prospects who have taken a nice, but somewhat expected, leap. They deserve praise, sure, but how is that improvement comparable to a career G Leaguer suddenly morphing into one of the best centers in the NBA?