Pelicans Rookie Yves Missi's Early Impact Can't Be Overlooked

The Baylor product has been an important piece on a playoff-caliber team early in his rookie season.

Oct 7, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) signals out of bounds on the Orlando Magic during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Leading up to the 2024 NBA Draft, Yves Missi was one of the more underrated players in his class. In his lone season at Baylor, he posted averages of 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, which was impressive but he certainly wasn’t as productive as other bigs entering the draft. 

The upside was clear with him, but Missi was fairly raw on the offensive end. He was effective near the rim and as a play finisher, but he had much to improve upon as an offensive weapon. On the defensive side of the floor, the Baylor product proved to be a quality shot blocker at the collegiate level with the ability to enhance an NBA defense even as a rookie. 

Missi was ultimately selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Interestingly enough, New Orleans entered the 2024-25 season with a lack of depth at the center position, meaning there would be an opportunity for Missi. This situation wasn’t too dissimilar from Dereck Lively with the Dallas Mavericks last season. Just like the Mavs in the 2023-24 campaign, the Pelicans are a team with playoff expectations that will have to lean on a seemingly unpolished rookie center to play important minutes. 

So far, that’s been a call Missi has been able to answer. 

While he still has a significant amount of development ahead of him, Missi has been a quality rim protector for the Pelicans early this season and a transition and lob threat that allows New Orleans to play the way it wants to. In his NBA debut, the 20-year-old scored 12 points while pulling down seven rebounds and blocking three shots. He’s yet to have a game that productive in the three since then, but he’s still found ways to be impactful in ways that don’t show up on the box score. We've been able to see the things he did well in college translate to the NBA, providing a solid foundation for him to build upon as he improves.

While he hasn’t gotten as much recognition as he deserves thus far, Yves Missi has quietly been one of the most impressive rookies in the NBA this season. He’s making a real impact on a team with the talent to make noise in the playoffs and is playing within himself. 

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