Mavericks’ Moussa Cissé leaves Pelicans preseason game with left ankle sprain; injury not considered serious

Dallas Mavericks center Moussa Cissé did not come out for the second half of Wednesday’s preseason home game against the New Orleans Pelicans after spraining his left ankle, the Mavericks announced. The team listed him as out for the rest of the night with a left ankle sprain shortly after halftime.

Moussa Cisse (left ankle sprain) will not return to tonight's preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) October 15, 2026

The early word is encouraging. Marc Stein reported that the injury is not regarded as serious and that Dallas chose to keep Cissé on the bench for the second half as a precaution rather than because of a significant setback.

I’m told the Moussa Cissé ankle injury is not regarded as serious but the Mavericks have opted to have him sit out tonight’s second half as a precaution. https://t.co/lyhPSnIc9D

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 15, 2026

A strong half cut short

The timing stings for Cissé, who was making his first start of the preseason and had his most productive outing of camp. He finished the first half with eight points, six rebounds, three blocks, a steal and an assist, giving Dallas the rim protection and second-chance energy it had been missing. In his two earlier exhibitions he had averaged just 1.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in about 10 minutes.

New Orleans led 56-45 at the break. Tobi Lawal took Cissé’s spot in the lineup to open the third quarter alongside Naji Marshall, Zaccharie Risacher, Max Christie and P.J. Washington, as Grant Afseth noted from the arena.

Dallas was already thin up front

Cissé drew the start because the Mavericks were without most of their big men. Dereck Lively II (right foot) and Santi Aldama (right knee) were ruled out before the game, while Daniel Gafford and rookie Morez Johnson Jr. were held out for rest along with Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving. Any extended absence for Cissé would leave coach Dusty May with very few healthy centers to look at before the opener.

The sprain also lands in the middle of a roster battle. Dallas still has one more standard contract than it can carry, and 35-year-old Dwight Powell has been competing with younger bigs for the last spot. Cissé’s roughly $2.2 million salary for 2026-27 is already fully guaranteed after the Mavericks matched the Knicks’ two-year offer sheet in July, but a healthy final week of exhibitions would have been his best chance to push for regular backup minutes.

What to watch next

The Mavericks have two more preseason games before the regular season opens next week. If the precautionary framing holds, Cissé could be available for at least one of them; the next official status update should come on the team’s availability report ahead of Dallas’ following exhibition.