ESPN NBA Insider Questions if Hornets’ LaMelo Ball is Franchise Player

Charlotte Hornets All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball yet to make the playoffs across his four seasons with the team, despite stuffing box scores with some eye-popping stats over the years. So can he ever truly become a winning player?

One expert pundit has his doubts.

During a new episode of the essential “The Hoop Collective Podcast,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon got real about Ball’s limitations and ceiling in the league.

“I don’t know that LaMelo Ball can play winning basketball,” MacMahon opined. “I don’t know if LaMelo Ball can be the franchise player on a winner, because he’s got a pretty ’empty-calories’ game. I mean, the man can fill up a box score, but his efficiency — even despite the fact that he shot the three pretty well — his efficiency is garbage. His defense is horrific. And I don’t see a lot of evidence that the guy considers winning to be a priority.”

The 23-year-old had an appetizing start to his NBA career.

After being selected by Charlotte with the No. 3 overall pick behind James Wiseman (a selection the Golden State Warriors would certainly take a mulligan on now), the 6-foot-7 point guard was named the Rookie of the Year in a draft class that also included All-NBA Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards, the top pick that year.

During the subsequent 2021-22 season, Ball was named an All-Star replacement player, with his numbers rising across the board. That ear, the Chino Hills native suited up for a career-most 75 games, averaging then-career bests of 20.1 points (on .429/.389/.872 shooting splits), 7.6 assists (against an ominous 3.3 turnovers), 6.7 rebounds, and 1.6 steals.

The Hornets finished with a respectable 43-39 record, good for the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. They fell in their play-in tournament matchup to the Atlanta Hawks in a 132-103 blowout.

Ball hasn’t had much health luck since.

Across the last two seasons, Ball has been limited to just 58 total regular season contests. When he has played, he has — to MacMahon’s point — put up big-time numbers. In the games he did play, he averaged 23.5 points on .419/.369/.850 shooting splits, 8.3 assists, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.5 steals a night.

Across both the last two seasons, Ball’s run has been ended by right ankle injuries.

Whether or not Ball actually is a franchise player, he’s certainly getting compensated like one. Next year, Ball is set to embark on the first season of a now-questionable five-year, $203.9 million rookie-scale contract extension. Will Charlotte regret that move in the long run?

Without Ball for much of the year in 2023-24, the team finished with a paltry 21-61 record. That run netted Charlotte the No. 6 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, which the Hornets used on French power forward Tidjane Salaün. It remains to be seen if his addition, the improvement of 2024 All-Rookie First Team forward Brandon Miller, and a possibly healthier run for Ball will help Charlotte rack up a few more wins in 2024-25.

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