Zach Lowe believes LaMelo Ball still has the potential to be a star, but he needs to address some major issues in his game last season.
Next season will be a big one for the Charlotte Hornets. For the first time in years, the Hornets have an exciting roster, all healthy and ready.
The Hornets have assembled a strong roster, with LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and rookie Con Knuppel forming a formidable core.
LaMelo Ball has struggled to find consistency over the years, but he’s looking to bounce back. And while the Hornets are putting Ball in a controversial role, he could be a great addition to the Hornets.
LaMelo must prove he can be a reliable player who can impact wins. And even though he couldn’t do that, some still won’t quit on him.
Zach Lowe spoke on his podcast about LaMelo Ball heading into the 2025-26 NBA season. Despite his inconsistency, Lowe believes in Ball.
He believes he still has the shooting and offensive talent left in him. And if LaMelo can curb his bad offensive habits and poor decision-making from last season, he could rise to superstardom.
“We feel like we’re the last two guys to jump on the bandwagon of, ‘LaMelo (Ball) could still be really good.’ I’ve said it many times, 6’8,” a proven track record as a great 3-point shooter…
“His pull-up three numbers are really, really good and his catch-and-shoot three numbers are elite, considering how many crazy shots he’s been hitting.
“When you have that kind of ephemeral vision, it’s… unicorn is too strong a word. There aren’t many guys like that, and I’m not giving up on that.
“Last year, I thought he pivoted to, ‘Okay, what else am I going to do? Who am I going to pass to? I’m going to do three pull-ups again.’
“I know the coaches are telling him, ‘Yeah, that was last year. Why don’t you bag some crazier guys this year and let other guys touch the ball?’
“Because if they can rope in the wildness of his game on both ends of the floor, he might be even wilder defensively than he is offensively. I’m just not out and I’m not going to be out…I think LaMelo is a really good offensive player.”
It’s no exaggeration to say that the success of the Charlotte Hornets next season will depend on LaMelo Ball’s performance next season.
The former All-Star and Rookie of the Year showed in his first two seasons that he could be the best player on the team, but he has rarely achieved that level of consistency since then.
Now that he has spent the offseason resting and recovering, LaMelo will be able to not only return to playing high-level basketball, but also become a great playmaker once again.
LaMelo’s playmaking will help elevate young stars like Brandon Miller and Con Knuppel, who can score easily.