Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball has caught the attention of the NBA with his play in the 2024-25 season. Ball is playing one of the healthiest seasons of his career and has appeared in 27 games this season, averaging 29.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists. With his play, he’s put the league in notice on what he can do on the floor.
On Monday, Charlotte had a 110-105 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The youngest of the Ball brothers filled the stat sheet and finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, a steal and a block. While he had help from Miles Bridges, who had 23 points and five rebounds, LaMelo’s play caught the attention of All-Star guard Kyrie Irving.
After the game, Irving spoke highly of Ball and how he’s performed for Charlotte this season. The veteran player also noticed how the 6-foot-7 guard has stayed healthy, helping him to show bits of his potential.
“I just remember my Dad and other pros telling me how quick your years go by,” Irving said. “So it’s good to enjoy every day that you’re a part of this and especially when you are a young player. Yes, you have expectations, but we’re really banking on your potential to be displayed in front of us, so you earn our respect, and I think he’s (Ball) done that. He’s done that for the past few years. Glad that he’s healthy this year and he’s able to show the world who he is.
“He’s got a good pedigree, man. He comes from a family that has pros, Lonzo’s helped him out a lot. Obviously, playing with Gelo, too. They have a tight knit group. I feel like that’s led to him being as confident as he is as a young player, playing against older guys and having brothers that beat up on him a little bit.
Kyrie Irving is a fan of LaMelo Ball.
“He comes from a family that has pros… They have a tight-knit group,I feel like that’s led to him being as confident as he is as a young player, playing against older guys and having brothers that beat up on him a little bit.”#MFFL pic.twitter.com/1YEszlt1nw
— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) January 20, 2025
However, Irving knows that Ball can do more on the basketball court and is looking forward to seeing it one day.
“I wanna see that young guy reach his potential even more so and answer a lot of the doubters and naysayers that say, ‘He can’t win.’”
The Hornets plan to trade Josh Okogie
The Hornets acquired Josh Okogie from the Phoenix Suns in a trade for Nick Richards. However, NBA Insider Marc Stein revealed that the organization isn’t looking to keep the defensive wing.
Stein reported that Charlotte plans to make another move in the trade market, which involves the defensive stopper. This is to expand the return they received from trading away Richards. But no team or player has been linked to the East team yet.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
