NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — With the 21st overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Pelicans select Baylor center Yves Missi.
In 34 games, Missi averaged 10.7 points on 61.4 % shooting with 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game (51 total)
The 7-foot, 230 pound Cameroon product was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team and Big 12 All-Defensive team in 2023.
More importantly, he gives the Pelicans the tall, athletic presence in the paint they were searching for this offseason.
“I think Missi is probably, you know, a year or two away from really sort of being what he’s going to be, but I think he impressed people this year at Baylor, sort of the flashes that he had. He has, you know, good physical profile for a center. Good tools, good size. He picked up the game a Iittle bit later. So, I think there is this perception that there is some untapped room for him to add to his game and I think in workouts he’s helped himself, showing he could do some of the dirty work asked for guys in that role. So, I think the hope is he can kind of be a sort of a rim-running athletic presence in the paint,” said ESPN NBA Draft Analyst Jeremy Woo.
Yves Missi is 20-years-old and started playing organized basketball at the age of 16.
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