Grading Yves Missi's debut amid Pelicans center controversy

This past offseason, it was impossible to talk about the New Orleans Pelicans without their suspect center rotation being brought up. Sure, the team acquired an All-Star talent in Dejounte Murray, but they also lost their starting and backup center over the summer. Jonas Valanciunas walked away in free agency and Larry Nance Jr. was traded away to acquire Murray.

The Pelicans made a few moves to fill their massive hole in the middle, none of which gave fans or analysts much confidence in their title chances. They signed German veteran Daniel Theis in free agency, drafted Yves Missi out of Baylor with the 21st-overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and brought back Karlo Matkovic who they originally selected in the second round in 2022.

Missi was one of the darlings of the draft, shooting up boards due to his combine performance and eye-popping film. While there were many fans of the pick, the prospect of sending out a 20-year-old still relatively new to the game of basketball to anchor the defense for a title hopeful made the Pelicans faithful nervous. Missi impressed early on throughout the draft process, training camp, and preseason, but there was still no telling how effective he could be in his rookie year. In his NBA debut against the Chicago Bulls, Yves Missi answered a lot of questions about himself and the future of the Pelicans.

Yves Missi Pelicans debut grade: A+

Yves Missi had no rookie nerves to play out of his system. Coming off the bench to relieve starting center Daniel Theis, Missi instantly made it known that he belonged on an NBA court. He not only survived in his first stint at the professional level, he popped off of the screen.

It was expected that Missi would bring a few things to the table that Theis, the other centers on the roster, and even past Pelicans bigs aren't capable of: relentless energy, elite athleticism, vertical spacing, switchability, and true intimidation at the rim. At times, he looked like a young Anthony Davis, launching a yard into the air at a moment's notice to swat an unsuspecting ballhandler with perfect timing and a lasting force.

Missi finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks on a clean 5/8 shooting. Impressively, he managed to stay out of foul trouble with just two penalties committed.

He wound up with more playing time than Theis, Head Coach Willie Green's named starter. I'm willing to bet that Green was tempted to close with the rookie too, but ultimately opted to go with the veteran down the stretch instead. If Missi's debut is indicative of the rest of his season, and especially if he continues to show development throughout his freshman campaign, it'll only be a matter of time before he snatches the starting spot away from Theis.