The Boston Celtics will host their Media Day on Monday afternoon, signaling the official start of NBA Training Camp. 

After that, the C's will take the floor for the first time on Tuesday, and they'll start preparing for the first preseason contest, which is Oct. 8.

Heading into 2026-27, there are a lot of questions for the Celtics, including how will Jayson Tatum look in his first full year since returning from a torn Achilles, how will Tatum lead the team in the absence of Jaylen Brown, will Derrick White regain his shooting form, and will Payton Pritchard take the next step as a scoring guard?

How will Mitchell Robinson contribute after signing a three-year deal worth nearly $50 million in the offseason? And how will Joe Mazzulla handle his new-look rotations?

Those are all discussion points, and they are valuable ones. But there's one player that doesn't seem to be getting a lot of attention this offseason and that's big man Neemias Queta.

And frankly, Queta should be getting talked about. He feels entirely underrated heading into the new campaign.

Queta played in 76 games last season for the Celtics, averaging 10.2 ppg and 8.4 rebounds. A 7-footer, he's certainly capable of scoring a bit and aiding in rebounding and defensive efforts. He's active and athletic, and is still just 27 years old. He's a five-year veteran of the Sacramento Kings and Celtics. His 10.2 ppg last season were nearly double that of any previous season in his career (5.5 in 2023-24).

He signed a four-year extension worth $56 million with the Celtics this offeason.

Well, because everyone always likes to talk about what's new, and Robinson and Paul George are the new pieces on the Celtics. Everyone is trying to figure out how they fit in to the puzzle, but I think it's worth discussing the kind of jump that Queta can take moving forward.

Guys who average near double-doubles don't grow on trees, and if Queta can take another leap to a guy who scores 13 points and averages 10 rebounds or so? He'll become one of the more valuable big men in the league.

The fact that he's entering camp as a relative afterthought feels like a disservice to his skillset.

We saw him take nice strides with Team Portugal at this summer's World Cup Qualifiers as well.

As alluded to above, will Queta get the chance to grow into that player I think he can? Or will Mazzulla be married to the idea of playing he and Robinson equally? How does rookie Chris Cenac Jr. fit into things? And what about Luka Garza? There are four quality big men there, and only so many minutes to go around. I think Queta can flourish, but he needs to be on the court enough to do so.