The interest surrounding Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball has dwindled a little bit.
To that point, the NBA can have 50 stars. However, due to human nature, the attention given to them won’t be distributed evenly. This is partially because the sports world focuses on what players have done recently. As it relates to Ball, he’s missed 106 games over the past two seasons. In that time, point guards like New York Knicks captain Jalen Brunson have become the talk of the league.
Nonetheless, while the focus of fans and media has somewhat shifted away from Ball, it doesn’t make him any less talented. At 6-foot-7, he’s a natural playmaker with exceptional vision and dexterity. In fact, he has the third-highest career assist average (7.4) in Hornets history, behind Muggsy Bogues (8.8) and Brevin Knight (8.3).
Hornets’ ‘Generational’ LaMelo Ball Preparing For Career Season?
Considering how well Ball’s oldest brother —Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball —sees the floor, it’s worth wondering how much of their point guard ability is tied to nature versus nurture.
Both Ball brothers trained vigorously with their outspoken father, LaVar. Both Ball brothers also attended Chino Hills High School, where they were coached by Steve Baik. However, Lonzo —like Bogues and Knight —isn’t nearly as capable a scorer as LaMelo.
The baby Ball brother isn’t just a fancy facilitator. Like his older brothers, including even LiAngelo Ball, he does have a knack for knocking down long-range jumpers. Yet, he’s also a crafty shot-creator, finesse finisher, and has an aggressive scoring mindset.
As a result, he’s averaged 20.0 points per game in his NBA career. Though the sample size may skew the results, he’s averaged 23.5 points per game over the past two seasons.
Players who can take over the game as distributors and scorers are rare, but LaMelo is one of them. In that vein, he’s in the same category as Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic.
“He’s generational. I tell him that all the time,” Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier says of his former teammate, per The Charlotte Observer’s Roderick Boone.
Ball needs to take the next step offensively to truly belong in the conversation with James, Jokic, and Doncic. But even with the emergence of Brandon Miller, that’s possible. In that effort, Hornets head coach Charles Lee is hoping to make him a sharper decision-maker. Lee also wants Ball to trust in his teammates, which could lead to cleaner shot attempts and a spike in his percentages.
Preseason LaMelo
Through the Hornets’ first two 2024-25 preseason games, Ball is already showing what it looks like when he puts it all together.
He’s averaging 21.0 points and 5.5 assists in just 21.2 minutes per game. His efficiency has been impressive as well, with him shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range.
With that being said, Ball’s defensive tools are also worth mentioning. This preseason, he’s averaging 1.0 steal and 1.0 block per game. The 2020 No. 3 pick has averaged more than 1.5 steals per game in three of his four career seasons. Though he needs to be more disciplined at this end as well, he’s an event creator who can wreak havoc with his IQ and length.
If he can keep this up for an entire season, he might have his best year yet. However, the goal is to have him play that way from here on out. To that point, generational players don’t just stack days, they stack seasons.
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