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Where Yves Missi Stands in NBA's Rookie Ranking Ladder

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Nathaniel Holloway | Last updated Jan 23, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The NBA released their Rookie Ladder on Wednesday and there was a ton of movement in it.

While the Washington Wizards’ star rookie Alexandre Sarr stayed at the top of the updated Rookie Ladder, the rest of the rankings were shaken up. Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs jumped to second on the list and he was followed by Jaylen Wells of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Yves Missi of the New Orleans Pelicans fell to fourth in this week’s rankings. The 20-year-old center had held the second spot for the past couple of weeks after holding on to the top spot before that.

Missi has seen a dip in production lately, mainly due to some of the Pelicans’ stars finally returning from injury. New Orleans has seen Zion Williamson return to the court after missing over two months with a hamstring injury and C.J. McCollum and Dejounte Murray have also been playing well.

Due to this, Missi has fallen in the Rookie Ladder due to his recent involvement. With most of the Pelicans’ roster missing time due to injuries this season, it allowed Missi to be one of their top options in the lineup, but with their stars returning, he has seen his involvement offensively drop off.

While Missi has not been as productive over the past few weeks, he has still impressed this season. The 6-11 center is averaging 9.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 56.1% from the field.

He has proven that he is going to be a key part of the Pelicans’ future and that he also should have been a much higher draft pick. Of course, New Orleans selected him 21^st overall in the 2024 draft, but he has played like a top pick this season.

While Missi will likely not win the Rookie of the Year award this season, he could still have a shot to do so, especially if the Pelicans decide to start a rebuild and trade away most of their roster ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Either way, Missi has had a great season and has turned himself into the franchise center for New Orleans.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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