NBA fans recently reacted to a bold statement that downplayed Charlotte Hornets superstar LaMelo Ball as no longer the face of the franchise, with the spot now claimed by their rookie star.
Over at social media platform X, a video of NBA insider Mike Scotto went viral, where he boldly claimed that LaMelo Ball may no longer be the face of the franchise for the Charlotte Hornets, with the front office likely looking to focus on their rookie star, Kon Kneuppel. For NBA fans, the sentiment is the same.
In particular, one fan believes that the Hornets would only move forward and progress once LaMelo Ball leaves.
“Progress starts when LaMelo leaves,” they said.
Progress starts when Lamelo leaves.
— ₿ruke (@BrukeFasil) December 15, 2025
In a recent video, Scotto boldly predicted that rookie Kon Kueppel might be looked at right now by the Hornets as the future face of the franchise. However, there is still consideration for older talents.
“Kon Knueppel has essentially become the face of the franchise,” Scotto said about the matter. “To my understanding, they still want to see what it looks like with LaMelo, Brandon Miller, who has also been hurt, Kon Knueppel, and the rest of that team. They think that if they’re healthy, they could be a play-in team. But again, a big if.”
Scotto highlighted that the Hornets might be seeing expensive, often-injured stars as more of a liability now and might be choosing to focus on fresh talent that is still not as expensive as the older ones.
NBA Fans Argue Over Knueppel vs Ball as Face of The Franchise
Over at X, NBA fans argued on whether it makes sense for the Hornets to look at rookie Kon Knueppel as the new face of the franchise, despite not having spent enough time with the roster yet. For one fan, the rookie might not be able to draw fans and crowd like LaMelo Ball could, but he could compensate in other departments.
“As they should,” the fan said. “He won’t draw the fans or media hype of Ball. But he will play winning basketball.”
As they should. He won’t draw the fans or media hype of Ball.
But he will play winning basketball.
— Lawrence | SwolLyfe (@_TrueVoodoo) December 15, 2025
For another fan, choosing to focus on a younger talent like Knueppel makes a lot of sense, with Ball’s “reckless” way of playing.
“Kon Knueppel is a serious franchise player,” they said. “Lamelo Ball’s style appears too reckless. As Ball ages, the injuries will mount and his career will have seen its prime years ago.”
Right now, the Charlotte Hornets sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and NBA fans are hoping to see an improvement in how they fare for the rest of the season.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
