Coming into the 2024-25 NBA season, the New Orleans Pelicans had plenty of questions they wanted to answer. Now that the campaign is in its last days, the majority of their concerns either went unresolved or were exacerbated. Depending on how the 2025 draft lottery plays out, the Pelicans could actually come out with a much better outlook than they ever expected, but the fact remains that this past year was a disappointment for them.
Some of the questions they came in with and their ultimate answers reflect their abysmal shortcomings as a team. Will Dejounte Murray fit in well? He played 31 games, racked up two major injuries, and had arguably the worst season of his career. Can Zion Williamson stay healthy? He was ruled out for the remainder of the year with 30 games under his belt. Will they make the right move with Brandon Ingram? He was traded at the deadline for cents on the dollar as an upcoming unrestricted free agent seeking a massive extension.
Most of the questions just remain unanswered though. Can Zion be the best player on a title team? What will they do with CJ McCollum? What does this squad look like with a legitimate floor general? Thankfully, the Pelicans were able to answer at least one pressing question, even if the solution came way too late.
Yves Missi has proven that he can be the Pelicans' center of the future
One of the most glaring issues for the New Orleans Pelicans coming into the season was regarding their center rotation. Despite losing both Jonas Valanciunas and Larry Nance Jr. in the offseason, the Pelicans did little to address the suddenly gaping hole in the middle of their lineup. Instead of identifying a solid replacement for their starting anchor or even finding a solid stopgap, they drafted Yves Missi out of Baylor toward the end of the first round and signed veteran journeyman Daniel Theis.
Despite the completely unfair demands thrust upon him, Missi exceeded expectations out of the gate in his first year and has only continued to impress. On the year, he's averaging 9.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.4 blocks in just under 27 minutes a game while shooting 55 percent from the field.
It's not just the counting stats, either. It's the process of how he's gotten here. Coming out of Baylor, it was clear that Missi had the athleticism, size, and physical tools to excel in the league someday. The concern was whether he'd be able to withstand the speed and strength of the professional game as a 20-year-old rookie and be a positively impactful anchor for a team with playoff aspirations while learning the nuances on both ends of the court expected of an NBA starting center.
Not only did he survive his baptism by fire in the first couple of months as a pro, but he's also shown notable growth in the finer details of the game as he's garnered more reps over time. His screening, timing, positioning, and touch have all developed incrementally throughout the season.
Most importantly, he showed that he could thrive in a starting role alongside Zion Williamson, despite their shared concerns as outside shooters. According to Cleaning the Glass (subscription required), the Pelicans actually had a +2.9 net rating in lineups where Z was the power forward with Missi manning the middle.
Furthermore, New Orleans was beating teams by 13.7 points per 100 possessions when those two were sharing the floor with Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, and Trey Murphy III. There's a strong chance that the Pelicans' starting group next season will be pretty similar to that lineup, and that's because Missi has earned a chance to be their full-time center next year. Ultimately, it didn't matter in the slightest, but Yves Missi absolutely proved that he could have been their anchor this season had everyone else stayed healthy.