There is no set criteria for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. But we have one firm rule when it comes to a player’s candidacy: If your team loses three starter-level centers (including two former All-Stars) during any given offseason, and you don’t see a steep drop-off from the center position the following season, the fourth-string big man who elevated and thrived in his new starting role ought to be a top candidate.

All summer, pundits predicted a monster drop-off for the Boston Celtics, tied largely to the departures of Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet. Not only did 26-year-old Neemias Queta shuffle all the way to the top of the depth chart, but he’s been one of the most consistent big men in the NBA this season and is steering the Celtics toward the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Spare us all your MIP graphics that focus solely on scoring jumps. There are plenty of players who deserve consideration for MIP based on statistical jumps after finding increased touches on lottery-bound or middling-playoff teams. None of them were thrust into a situation like Queta’s, where the success of the team hinged heavily on him being ready for the moment.

Not only has Queta been extremely available (73 games played) but he’s averaging 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks over 25.5 minutes per game. He has posted 16 double-doubles, with Boston owning a 14-2 mark in those games.

Queta is one of only three players in Celtics history to average at least eight rebounds and one block per game while shooting better than 60 percent from the floor. The other two: Kevin McHale in 1986-87 (when he finished fourth in Most Valuable Player voting) and Robert Williams III in 2021-22 (when Time Lord was an egregious 9th in MIP voting).

“He’s probably one of the most improved players this year,” said Boston’s MVP candidate Jaylen Brown after Sunday’s win over Toronto. “I don’t know if he’s up for the award, but he should be.”

For his part, Queta said of his MIP candidacy: “I feel like I made a good case for it … At the end of the day, I’m just helping the team win, and that’s my main goal.”

Neemias Queta has Jaylen Brown’s vote for Most Improved Player 🙌

Here’s a look at the current NBA MIP odds ➡️ pic.twitter.com/cySRS9Pw5M

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) April 6, 2026

Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Detroit’s Jalen Duren, Portland’s Deni Avdija, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, and Milwaukee’s Ryan Rollins top the oddsmakers list of Most Improved Candidates. Alexander-Walker is the favorite — and with good reason given his two-way impact — but Queta deserves to be in the conversation.

Here are four stats that hammer home Queta’s impact this season:

1. Net gains

Queta leads the Eastern Conference in both net rating and defensive rating. The Celtics have dominated games during his floor time while outscoring opponents by 13.1 points per 100 possessions, fueled largely by a stingy defense with Queta anchoring the back line.

Just look at the numbers:

Queta’s +13.1 net rating is best on the Celtics team this season. The Celtics’ defense is 6.6 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court than off.

The numbers get even staggering when you crunch down to the last 10 games. Boston is outscoring opponents by 23.8 points per 100 possessions during Queta’s floor time. The Celtics are 29.2 points per 100 possessions better in Queta’s 255 minutes on the court (versus 225 off it) in that span.

2. The gritty stuff

Perhaps Queta’s most endearing trait is his desire to make things easier on everyone else around him. Queta is a relentless screener who is getting even better at making decisions as a roll man. His ability to catch a feed and immediately fire to a corner 3-point shooter has grown by leaps and bounds this season. 

Queta’s 264 screen assists and 645 screen assist points both rank second in the NBA, trailing only Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert (300 screen assists, 749 screen assist points).

Even more intriguing: Queta has only scratched the surface of his pick-and-roll potential with Tatum. The duo has played 316 minutes together — second-most among any two-man lineup featuring Tatum — and has a stellar +17.6 net rating in their shared floor time.

Nineteen of Tatum’s 66 assists since returning this season have gone to Queta, who is shooting 54.3 percent on all Tatum feeds. That percentage is climbing, too. Over the last three games, Queta is 6-for-8 shooting (75 percent) on all Tatum feeds.

3. Net points

Last season, ESPN stats guru Dean Oliver created a “Net Points” metric that uses play-by-play data to highlight a player’s individual impact during their floor time. 

Not only does Queta rank 19th overall in the entire NBA — his 129 net points are the highest among all Celtics players — but Queta’s 95 defensive net points rank third among all players, trailing only San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama (163) and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren (104).

Queta is on pace to have the best defensive season in Net Points since Robert Williams III posted 100 defensive Net Points during the 2021-22 (and helped fuel a Boston defense that accelerated straight to the NBA Finals). 

The DARKO metric suggests that Queta saves 2.3 points per 100 possessions, ranking in the 98th percentile among all big men. Opponents shoot 5.0 percent below expected output when Queta is the primary defender, and that number drops to 11.1 percent below expected at the rim with Queta defending.

Queta absolutely needs to avoid foul trouble and play with discipline during the postseason given how vital his presence is on the court.

4. Runs on dunks

Queta has accounted for 114 of Boston’s 241 total dunks this season (47.3 percent). He’s one of the team’s only bigs who can be a vertical threat. 

While we think Queta will eventually stretch his game out to the perimeter, (and he showed some of that during FIBA play), he has missed all seven 3-pointers that he has attempted during the 2025-26 season (and all 10 for his career). For now, he knows where his bread is buttered, shooting 65.2 percent on all two-point shots.

Whether it’s all the dunks or an evolving floater game, Queta doesn’t overthink things.

His average possession time per touch is 1.67 seconds. He averages only 0.57 dribbles per touch. He makes the most of his limited touches (35.2 per game) and does a solid job avoiding bad pass turnovers. He’s also elite at cleaning up the shots he misses (17.2 percent of his own misses, he corals, ranking in the 82nd percentile for his position). 

The bottom line: Queta was ready for his opportunity when it arrived this season and has been a monster part of Boston’s overall success. Given the centers Boston might encounter on its playoff path, Queta might just be vital to Boston’s postseason success, too.

He deserves more consideration for MIP given the circumstances he was thrust into.