Despite having savvy veterans around him like Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier, LaMelo Ball is undoubtedly the face of the Charlotte Hornets franchise. They have full belief in his abilities and he proves time and time again why he's the right man to get this team into the playoffs.

Hornets GM, Mitch Kupchak, is the one who really loved the way LaMelo played down under in the NBL and was a driving force behind Charlotte drafting him. In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Kupchak, who was with the Lakers in Kobe Bryant's early days, made a very unique comparison between the two:

In his talks with Ball, Kupchak frequently brings up the greatness of Kobe Bryant, whose development he helped oversee as an executive with the Lakers. The practice habits and offseason workouts, the competitiveness that sharpened a singular focus. Kupchak won’t compare the Hornets star to Kobe but notes a similar unflappability on the floor. “Whether it’s making a bad pass or two because maybe he tries to stretch the limits of the pass, he’ll do it a third time,” says Kupchak. “If he misses two or three threes, and there’s two minutes left to the game, he’ll take another one. He doesn’t get rattled, and he has great confidence in his abilities.”

Obviously, it's far too early to make those types of comparisons. But, Ball does show unmatched confidence on the floor just like Kobe did throughout the course of his career, whether it's taking a deep triple or making a football-like pass down the court. If the Hornets guard makes a mistake, he simply just tries again.

Head coach James Borrego also discussed Ball's similarities with former Spurs star Manu Ginobli:

“Both Melo and Manu are fearless,” says Borrego. “The challenge is fitting that fearless spirit within a system.” The Hornets have veterans like forward Gordon Hayward and guard Terry Rozier, but Borrego tells Ball: You are the general. You have to control the gym. When they watch film together, it’s usually clips of split-second decisions Ball makes. “I say to him all the time, his basketball IQ is going to continue to grow,” says Borrego. “He has great feel, great instinct. Now it’s about the IQ growth in understanding the league and personnel, not only of his teammates but of who we’re playing, who we want to attack.”

Borrego was an assistant with the Spurs when Ginobli was on the team and he sees a very similar curiosity between Ball and the Argentine. LaMelo is reportedly one of the most vocal players in film sessions and he has a hunger to learn.

Although Ball is never one to compare himself to anybody, to have his name discussed with legends like Ginobli and Kobe is impressive in itself. The sky is the limit for the Hornets phenom.