{"id":833400,"date":"2026-07-30T12:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T12:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/833400\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T12:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T12:25:12","slug":"celtics-56-million-center-rejects-100000-training-with-nba-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/833400\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtics\u2019 $56 Million Center Rejects $100,000 Training With NBA Legend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Neemias\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto by Sarah Stier\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Neemias Queta, Boston Celtics<\/p>\n

Plenty of NBA<\/a> players pay top dollar to train with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon<\/a> during the offseason. Boston Celtics<\/a> center Neemias Queta<\/a> isn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n

In an interview with A Bola,<\/a> Queta was asked whether his new contract might make him more open to spending $100,000 on a week of post-move training with Olajuwon.<\/p>\n

Queta Doesn\u2019t Hesitate\"Neemias<\/p>\n

Neemias Queta, Boston Celtics<\/p>\n

Queta\u2019s answer was short and direct.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m cheap,\u201d Queta said.<\/a><\/p>\n

Pressed further on whether he\u2019d make an exception given Olajuwon\u2019s legendary status, Queta doubled down without wavering.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot even with Hakeem Olajuwon,\u201d Queta said.<\/a><\/p>\n

How Queta Plans to Improve Instead<\/p>\n

Rather than paying for specialized outside instruction, Queta said he\u2019s confident he can keep developing through his own work and Boston\u2019s internal player development program. He outlined specific areas of focus heading into next season, including improving his ability to switch onto smaller players defensively and holding his own in isolation situations without needing help.<\/p>\n

Offensively, Queta pointed to ball control, creating one-on-one opportunities in the post, spacing the floor, and building a more consistent jump shot as priorities for his continued growth.<\/p>\n

Why the New Celtics Contract Meant More Than the Money\"\"<\/p>\n

GettyGeneral Manager Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics.<\/p>\n

Queta recently signed a four-year, $56 million extension with Boston,<\/a> and he made clear the security of that deal mattered far more to him than the dollar figure attached to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing was knowing that Boston believed in me,\u201d Queta said.<\/a><\/p>\n

He described the relief of no longer facing the uncertainty that comes with pending free agency, saying it allows him to focus fully on basketball rather than worrying about his situation year to year.<\/p>\n

Final Word for the Celtics<\/p>\n

Neemias Queta isn\u2019t paying six figures for a week with a Hall of Famer, and he doesn\u2019t sound like he\u2019s losing any sleep over it. His path to improvement runs through repetition and Boston\u2019s own development program instead.<\/p>\n

For a player who just locked in four years of security, that grounded approach makes sense. Queta doesn\u2019t need a big offseason splash to prove he belongs. He just needs to keep putting in the work.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tKeith Watkins<\/a> Keith Watkins is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers. He previously wrote for FanSided, NBA Analysis Network, and Last Word On Sports. Keith is based in Bangkok, Thailand. More about Keith Watkins<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo by Sarah Stier\/Getty Images Neemias Queta, Boston Celtics Plenty of NBA players pay top dollar to train…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":833401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-833400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=833400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/833401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=833400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=833400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=833400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}