The FIBA World Cup Qualifiers begin on Thursday, and three members of the Celtics are in the mix.
Three members of the Boston Celtics organization are set to take part in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, which begin on Thursday and run through mid-September.
Big man Luka Garza will play for Bosnia and Herzogovina, Hugo Gonzalez will play for Spain and Neemias Queta will play for Portugal.
Bosnia and Herzogovina plays Italy at 2 p.m. ET on Friday. Spain and Portugal actually play each other at 3 p.m. ET on Friday.
Separately, Amari Williams will represent Great Britain this week, but it's part of EuroBasket, not FIBA.
Here's what you need to know:
How the FIBA World Cup works
While the qualification process is complex, 80 national teams are working to become one of the 32 teams to play in the FIBA World Cup in 2027.
The first round of qualifying happened in July and now we are onto the second round. Eventually, seven teams from FIBA Americas will qualify, as will seven from FIBA Asia/Oceana. Five times from FIBA Africa will get invited and 12 teams from FIBA Europe.
Qatar, the host nation of the tournament, receives an automatic bid. That will fill out the 32-team field.
The winner of the World Cup does not automatically advance to the Olympics in 2028, but it's highly likely that the winner will advance to Los Angeles.
The Americans won the most recent gold medal (2024), by defeating France on home soil. Team USA will play Chile on Thursday and Colombia on Monday.
Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) looks to make a move on Toronto Raptors forward Sandro Mamukelashvili (54) during the second half at TD Garden. Gregory Fisher-Imagn ImagesAbout Luka Garza
A former standout at Iowa, Garza is a five-year veteran of the Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves and Celtics. He's averaged 6.0 ppg for his career to go along with 2.7 rebounds. He was more productive last year with Boston, scoring 8.1 ppg in 69 games played. He also grabbed 4.1 rebounds and shot an exceptional 57.7 percent from the floor. He also shot 43 percent from three-point range.
He's got one more year under contract with the Celtics before reaching free agency in 2027-28. It's unclear exactly what his role will look like this season, considering the Celtics gave Queta a new deal, signed Mitchell Robinson in free agency and drafted big man Chris Cenac Jr. in the first round of the NBA Draft.
We recently discussed a little further how the quartet of big men could work on the roster.
As for Queta
Queta played in 76 games last season, 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).
And Gonzalez?
Just 20 years old, Gonzalez was taken in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. While he didn't have a massive scoring impact (3.9 ppg), he saw significant action, playing in 74 games. A solid shooter who can also get to the basket, he could be in line for a major uptick in minutes in the absence of Jaylen Brown, who was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers this summer.
