The Boston Celtics avoided a major injury scare over the weekend when center Neemias Queta was not badly injured while representing Portugal at the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. In fact, Queta was able to play on Monday for Portugal, and he was dominant once again.

However, every time we have an international competition, and every time there's an injury, the age-old question comes up: Do NBA players belong in international competition?

Look no further than current Celtics forward Paul George, who was set back by a massive leg injury in 2014 while playing for Team USA - in an intrasquad scrimmage. That injury may have cost a really good Indiana Pacers team a chance at the NBA Finals.

If you want to extend beyond basketball, Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby was injured at the Olympics this winter. Edwin Diaz missed the entirety of the 2023 season for the New York Mets after suffering a gruesome injury at the World Baseball Classic.

Every time players play in something away from the team facility, they have a chance at getting hurt, and those injuries can absolutely impact the professional team that pays them.

These players take extreme pride in where they come from, and in many cultures, representing the national team is actually a bigger deal than making the NBA - or any professional league.

Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners said he'd rather win a World Baseball Classic title than a World Series this March. I'm sure any World Cup player would feel the same way in soccer. The countries - and the chance to represent them - is everything to these players.

Furthermore, players take great pride in continuing to push forward the sports growth in their country. They want to get their country to the highest levels, and they want to open doors for the next generation of players. These international events have a great influence on their home nations.

And thirdly, from an NBA perspective, international success can help a player achieve the confidence needed to succeed in the NBA. Don't you think that Queta's growth for Portugal is ultimately a good thing for the Celtics? Doesn't having a bigger role with Spain help Hugo Gonzalez feel comfortable he can succeed with the C's? If these players play well internationally, don't they become more marketable, which is good for the business of the NBA?

Look no further than the Hughes brothers or the Tkachuk brothers from Team USA hockey. Don't you think their stars have grown because of Team USA's gold medal performance from 2026?

And finally, allowing players to play internationally also helps keep player-team relationships solid. Don't you think there would be resentment if team's did not let players represent their countries?

Injury. It's that simple. The NBA teams pay these players, they shouldn't have to be at risk every time they suit up internationally.