It's still too early to tell how good LaMelo Ball truly is or will be in his career, but his game has already received some impressive reviews at the beginning of his rookie season. Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego, meanwhile, may have given the most spot-on player comparison about the 19-year-old phenom.
Ahead of the Hornets' encounter versus the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on Saturday, Borrego said Ball greatly reminds him of San Antonio Spurs' great Manu Ginobili.
“The closest thing that I’ve seen that I’ve been around is Manu Ginobili. Just the ability to make plays off instinct, off competitive spirit,” the Hornets tactician said, per Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints.
“At times, just making something out of nothing. They probably just try to hit home run after home run. They both have that ability. That's probably the closing thing. They're different, they don't exactly play the same position but they both play that same spirit and mentality throughout the game”.
Now that's one heck of a compliment. Borrego, of course, knows just how terrific Ginobili is, having served as a deputy for the Spurs from 2003-10 and winning two championships in that span. The Argentine obviously shoots better than Ball right now, but no doubt the Hornets up-start is a better playmaker.
However, no one can deny that Ginobili and Ball both possess high-level skill with their craftiness with the basketball, a daredevil attitude when driving the paint. And of course, the two flashy guards have a penchant for theatrics.
Only time will tell if Ball will one day reach the same level of success as Manu has, but he is definitely off to a good start.
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