Still just 23 years old, LaMelo Ball is one of the most electric players in the NBA. As fun as he is to watch, there is a major problem. He hasn’t been on the court nearly enough for the Charlotte Hornets. The 2024-25 season was another example of this. He appeared in just 47 games, which remarkably is his most outings in the last three seasons. Hornets head coach Charles Lee has a suggestion as to how LaMelo Ball can stay on the court more often, and that is to get stronger. Ball seems to agree.
Hornets Head Coach On What LaMelo Ball Needs To Stay Healthy
LaMelo Ball Needs To Get Stronger
Steve Reed of The Associated Press wrote an article on Monday discussing the Hornets exit interviews. He mentioned Lee’s expectations for Ball on how he can remain active more often. The main point of what Lee said regarding his star playing was this,
“He’s got to get stronger.”
Now Lee didn’t go further into details on what that fully entails, but it’s understandable. Now five seasons into his career, Ball is listed at 6-foot-7, but just 190 lbs. To his credit, Ball didn’t look to get defensive on Lee’s comment as he said,
“I definitely agree. Just being in the weight room, and everything they’re saying.”
It’s fairly obvious that defenses mainly focus on Ball when he is on the court for Charlotte. His usage rate of 35.9% led the league this season, and it was nearly as high at 34.3% in 2023-24. Ball often attracts opposing team’s top wing defenders who make life more difficult for Ball by playing physical.
Now Ball is still mighty productive. That doesn’t help the Hornets as much though when he is on the sidelines in street clothes as often as he has been. They have yet to even reach the playoffs since 2016, well before they selected Ball third overall in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Injuries Have Plagued Him The Last Few Seasons
In his rookie year of 2020-21, Ball received 84 of 99 first-place votes en route to winning the Rookie of the Year award. While he played just 51 games, it was a shortened 72-game season. The following season, he played by far a career-high 75 games. Ball was named an All-Star in what is still his lone time receiving those honors.
In the ensuing three seasons, Ball has appeared in just 36, 22, and 47 contests. That is 105 out of a possible 246 outings that have seen the five-year point guard on the floor. He last played on March 25 this season before it was announced he would miss the rest of the season to undergo minor procedures on his ankle and wrist.
In his 47 appearances in 2024-25, Ball posted averages of 25.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.1 steals. While those are some excellent averages, it was also the least-efficient scoring season of his career. The 23-year-old had career-lows in both field goal (40.5) and three-point (33.9) percentage. He attempted a ridiculous 11.2 three-pointers per game on the year.
It’s no guarantee that adding strength will help Ball stay on the court, but something has to be done to allow him to not stay sidelined so frequently. He has four years remaining on the five-year max rookie scale extension worth nearly $204 million that he signed in the 2023 offseason.
Photo credit: © Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
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