Unique Stat Depicts 2025 First-Round Pick Yves Missi's Rare Athleticism

Yves Missi was an intriguing prospect coming into the 2025 NBA Draft.

The Baylor product was an extremely raw player, but boasted stellar size and athleticim that could turn him into a star, or at least a solid rotation piece, at the next level.

This is a common NBA Draft debate among prospects who are among the best athletes in the world, but lack some of the refined skill that players further along in their development posses.

At 6-foot-11 and 235 pounds, Missi's stature is perfect for an NBA center, and his impressive leaping ability and length garnered even more attention from scouts. Not only does Missi have a 7-foot-2 wingspan, the 21-year-old recorded a 38.5-inch max vertical leap at the NBA Combine, the same as Baylor teammate Ja'Kobe Walter.

That led to the Bears' star being selected at No. 21 overall by New Orleans after one year in college.

Missi put his athleticim on full display as a rookie, tallying 9.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 blocks per game en route to All-Rookie honors. In addition to his solid averages, Missi ranked among the NBA's top five in amount of time spent in the air, according to Sportradar's tracking data.

Players who spent the most (and least) time in the air last season. pic.twitter.com/B08slmnaMM
— Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) September 7, 2025

To measure this unique stat, Todd Whitehead noted that Sportradar analyzed the amount of time each player with at least 1,250 minutes played in the 2024-25 season spent with both feet at least 24 inches off the ground. The number next to each player's name is the rate of their minutes played spent in the air.

Missi's rate of time spent in the air to minutes played was 0.12, the same as Derrick Jones Jr. and Amen Thompson, and just below Ausar Thompson and Ja Morant, who each checked in at 0.13.

Of course, these numbers aren't an indication of a player's success, but it is an illustration of who plays "above the rim" most frequently. Jones, Morant and the Thompson twins are also lauded as premier athletes, which is reaffirmed by their placement on the list.

Jalen Green, Anthony Edwards, Shaedon Sharpe and Malik Monk rounded out the top 10.

Missi's athleticim should make him a solid role player for New Orleans in 2025-26 and moving forward if he continues to develop.

The All-Rookie honoree's role may look different once 2025 first-round pick Derik Queen returns to the Pelicans' lineup, but until then, Missi and rookie guard Jeremiah Fears could be a solid pair.

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