Snapshot
- Team / role: New Orleans Pelicans projected defense-first starting center at 20 healthy-night minutes in the base model and 24 in the defense-first alternate.
- 2025-26 baseline: 66 games, 19.7 MPG, 5.7 PTS, 5.8 REB, 1.3 AST, 0.3 STL, 1.5 BLK and no threes on .544 FG and .559 FT. NBA team statistics, accessed 2026-07-18
- Organization signal: a July report said New Orleans treated Missi as a core piece and would not include him in Knicks discussions. Treat that as trade reporting, not a minutes promise. Yahoo, 2026-07-02
2026-27 projection
| GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | 21 | .560 | .585 | 0.0 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
Fantasy translation
- Nine-category: 130-175 overall; rises further in punt-FT% builds and in blocks scarcity. At 21 minutes this is a real late-round target rather than a watchlist name, though the free-throw line remains disqualifying in FT%-sensitive builds.
- Points: 150-200; scoring and playmaking still do not carry a bench-usage center in most points settings.
- Dynasty: 90-140; a useful young rim-running center, though Derik Queen owns the superior offensive ceiling.
Correction 2026-07-18 Missi was previously projected at 66 GP × 16 MPG with 4.8 PTS / 4.8 REB / 1.2 BLK and bands of 160-210 / 180-230 / 100-150, while simultaneously being named the projected starting center and allocated only 10 healthy-night minutes. That was not sustainable in either direction. He averaged 19.7 MPG over 66 games in 2025-26 as a reserve, and a projected starter cannot credibly be modelled below the minutes he earned coming off the bench — particularly with Kevon Looney's 309 minutes now vacated to the Lakers. Raised to 68 × 21 with the counting stats and all three bands moved accordingly, plus a small defensive-rebound bump on Mosley's top-five defensive-rebounding record in Orlando. Sources: StatMuse 2025-26 Pelicans minutes · Sports Illustrated on Mosley.
Role, floor and ceiling
Missi starts games because his rim protection better complements Zion Williamson, then yields closing minutes to Queen. Floor: 14–16 minutes as the third active center if Karlo Matković is healthy and stretching the floor, or if New Orleans fills its open standard roster spot with a veteran center — the reporting is explicit that the remaining hole is at the five, which is the live threat to this projection. Ceiling: 26–28 minutes, 8/8 and 1.9 blocks if Mosley leans as hard on defense as his Orlando record suggests and Matković's back limits him.
Injury and transaction monitor
Missi was cleared from a calf strain on February 28 and suffered a right-hand sprain in April. FantasyPros, 2026-02-28 · CBS/RotoWire, 2026-04-07 Camp should confirm both are fully resolved.
Career record
Pre-NBA: Baylor, one season (2023-24): 10.7 PTS, 5.6 REB, 1.5 BLK in 23.0 MPG on .614 FG with 4.1 FTA per game; Big 12 All-Defensive and All-Freshman teams. Draft: 2024, Round 1, Pick 21, New Orleans Pelicans.
| Season | Age | Team | GP | MPG | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG% | FT% | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 20 | NOP | 73 | 26.8 | 9.1 | 8.2 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.0 | .547 | .623 | 1.1 |
| 2025-26 | 21 | NOP | 66 | 19.7 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | .544 | .559 | 0.8 |
| Career | 139 | 23.4 | 7.5 | 7.1 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 0.0 | — | — | 1.0 |
Durability: 73 GP as a rookie; 66 GP in 2025-26 around a calf strain (cleared February 28) and a late-season right-hand sprain. No structural red flags. Trajectory: The record is a rookie-year workhorse (26.8 MPG, near-double-double pace) demoted to a reserve in year two — yet his block rate rose on fewer minutes while FG% held steady, so the defensive skill is real and the decline was situational, not developmental. In 2026-27 he competes to keep the nominal starting-center job against Queen's offensive ceiling and Matković, under a defense-first coach whose system favors him. He is fantasy-relevant as a late-round blocks/FG% specialist whenever he holds 20+ MPG; the sub-.600 FT% (and worsening: .623 to .559) caps him to punt-FT% and deep category builds unless the line rebounds. Career sources: StatMuse season averages · Wikipedia · Sports-Reference college page · ESPN career stats
Open questions
- Does Missi actually start, and if so does he close any matchups?
- Can he hold 20-plus MPG with Queen and Matković healthy?
- Does New Orleans sign a veteran center into the open standard spot, and if so does that cost Missi or Matković?
- Does his free-throw rate improve enough to avoid punt-only status?