LaMelo Ball has emerged as one of the best players in the NBA this season as he is having the best year of his career. Ball has been sensational for the Charlotte Hornets as he is averaging over 27 points per game, but his play unfortunately isn't translating to a lot of wins. The Hornets are one of the worst teams in the NBA this year as they are currently 13-38 and in 14th place in the Eastern Conference. Only the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans have worse records.
Getting this type of play from LaMelo Ball is big for the Hornets, but they need to win some basketball games. It doesn't matter if Ball is averaging over 40 PPG if they are finishing in 14th place in the Eastern Conference. Former NBA player Jeff Teague is concerned that Ball isn't capable of playing winning basketball.
“I love LaMelo’s game but I don’t think he’s ever played winning basketball before,” Jeff Teague said during an episode of Club 520 Podcast. “So I don’t know if he could lead a franchise like Ja Morant because he hadn’t had experience. He went from high school basically, he went a different route. He played high school with his brothers where Lonzo [Ball] and them led that team. Then he went on a whole new circus.”
Ball is obviously a great player that brings a lot of positive attributes to a team, but can he be the leader that the Hornets need him to be? Can he be the guy that leads them to wins?
“He never really had to be a leader of a squad or take over a team,” Teague continued. “His AAU team lost all the time. It was just always a show. So to change around a franchise, you look at Ja Morant, he had Murray State lit, they wont, he knew he had to beat a guy, he trained to beat a guy, he was built for that. Dame Lillard, Steph Curry, they all had these teams to beat a guy and he’s always been a guy that just always lost.”
It would take a miracle for the Hornets to make a run at the postseason this year, but it will be interesting to see if LaMelo Ball can be that type of winning player for Charlotte in the future. He has a lot of talent, but being able to win is the important talent of all, and it's not easy to come by.