Yves Missi Is Pelican Who Could Make Biggest Leap in 2026-227

The spotlight, as it usually does for the New Orleans Pelicans, will fall on Zion Williamson as he looks to turn around back-to-back disappointing seasons in New Orleans. Williamson is entering his eighth year in New Orleans, and he personally has not appeared in a playoff game since being drafted in 2019.

While most of the weight of expectations is on his shoulders, the Pelicans will need other players to help carry some of the load.

And there should be optimism that third-year center Yves Missi, whose production dipped last season, should develop into an integral part of the lineup this year.

Where Missi stands after a down year

The Pelicans drafted the Cameroonian center with the 21st overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. His first season in New Orleans showcased his raw but talented skill set and earned him NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors.

Last season, the 6-foot-11 center saw a decline across the board in minutes, points, rebounds, and starts. After drafting Derik Queen in the first round, New Orleans employed numerous small-ball lineups that included Queen, Williamson, and/or Saddiq Bey.

Those lineups severely hampered the Pelicans' ability to defend the basket.

New Orleans surrendered 53.1 opponent points in the paint, the 25th-worst total in the league. The numbers were just as woeful when it came to defensive rebounding. Pelicans’ opponents were able to grab offensive rebounds against them nearly 30% of the time. Clearly, this was an area of need that the team needed to address this summer.

Instead, the team remained relatively quiet this offseason, opting to re-sign now-37-year-old DeAndre Jordan to a surprising two-year contract and pick up the team option on former second-round pick Karlo Matkovic. Their biggest offseason acquisition, Bennedict Mathurin, serves as another wing that won’t significantly impact the team’s ability to rebound and defend the paint.

The leap

Missi serves as the only legitimate big on the team and figures to get some quality minutes under new head coach Jamahl Mosley.

The former Orlando Magic head coach often used big lineups with his old team, giving Wendell Carter Jr. extensive minutes. Carter Jr. is more of a prototypical center, weighing around 270 pounds, but Mosley bucked the NBA trend of playing small to play his center nearly 30 minutes per game.

Mosley likely won’t play Missi that many minutes, but he should see an uptick from the 19.7 minutes he averaged last season. The Pelicans will hope that they'll solidify the interior, and that Missi can add another threat the team doesn’t consistently have: a lob threat.

Missi led the team in pick-and-roll percentages last season for any player playing more than 22 games last year. He was the roll man on 17.3% of possessions despite playing without a veteran lead guard, which he will have in Dejounte Murray this upcoming season. Murray returned from a ruptured Achilles tendon injury last season, but looks to be fully healthy.

With Murray’s playmaking ability in the pick-and-roll, Missi will have a legitimate guard who uses his athleticism to help get Missi easy buckets. That threat only enhances Missi’s value to get more playing time, as he makes a viable impact on both ends of the court.

Many NBA careers start with peaks and valleys. Missi’s first two seasons have had their ups and downs. Still, this upcoming season is a golden opportunity for the young center to have a breakout year and solidify himself as a starting-caliber center in this league.

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