The NBA Is Turning on LaMelo Ball

The NBA Is Turning on LaMelo Ball

LaMelo ball this preeason. Nutmeg and defenders to a 30-foot alley pulling up from deep like Steph Curry. It is going to be fun to watch, but who cares? Because around the league, the feeling isn’t excitement, it’s hate. The entire NBA is saying, “Yeah, he’s flashy. He’s also a loser.” Even last season when LaMelo was number one in all-star fan voting among these guards, coaches and media still left him off the roster. That’s how much they disrespect him. But now it’s worse than ever. The skepticism has reached an all-time high. But there is one person who still believes. My sons are like phones. I keep making them better and better. No, not him. I’m talking about the ringer, Zack Low, the most respected media guy among front offices. So when he believes in LaMelo, it means something. But this is a classic pattern. We love to build NBA guys up just to tear him down. Rookie of the year, Allstar year two. But now it is year six and the results are brutal. Charlotte has never finished higher than a 10 seed. Hadn’t sniffed the playoffs once. So the question isn’t when are the Hornets going to win. It’s can they ever win with LaMelo as their best player. And according to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, LaMelo’s a mega talent, but he can’t be the face of a winning franchise. And that’s not even controversial when you talk to people around the league. Apparently not. Just look at the latest top 100 rankings just before the season. Cross the Ringer Bleach Report. It’s bad. But ESPN has him ranked 63 behind Christian Brown and Jaylen Suggs. Not even the same universe as Darius Garland. Why? Well, there are three big reasons. Starting with the one that even LaMelo’s biggest fans cannot deny. But you guys know that I went to Greece this summer. It was great. But it just so happened to coincide with the best season of my favorite show at the time and I couldn’t watch Blocked Like Victor Wimanyama until I clicked over to today’s sponsor NordVPN. I have used NordVPN for years. Like when I was on vacay trying to finish this show, it came in clutch. Also like when so watching content when I’m away from home, super easy with NordVPN. And by the way, I just got this new computer. Awesome. But nothing will slow it down like malware in my experience. NordVPN helps me with that, too. With Threat Protection Pro, I block dangerous ads, don’t enter sketchy sites, and it checks all of my downloads. A total lifesaver. So, have fun on the web while staying safe. You can get Black Friday level savings and 4 months extra. Just go to nordvpn.com/am hoops or click the link in the description. And it’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money back guarantee. Again, that is nordvpn.com/amhoops. If your last name is ball, injuries follow you. But LaMelo is on a whole other level. Zion Williamson has missed 55% of possible games. Joel Embiid 49%. Even Data Davis is only 26%. But LaMelo is right there with Derek Rose, a player synonymous with injuries. But here’s the thing. When these people say that LaMelo cannot win, they’re not talking about his health. What they really mean is they hate his game. So, here’s a full breakdown of LaMelo’s game in 2025, the good and bad. He took more threes than anyone last year, 11.2 a game. Efficiency bad at 34%, but LaMelo’s an amazing shooter. Some of these threes are straight up Steph-like. Watch how this defender gamles for a steal, but instead of making it pay by attacking open space, Lenel just launches an off-balance three. So something that Steph would do because he can and LaMelo’s mastering these one-footed threes. Once again, coaches may hate it, but LaMelo’s got the green light cuz he’s that good. However, what people hate about his game is this. LaMelo knows he’s good, but when that confidence leads to tough contested threes early in the shot clock, it’s dumb. Straight hero ball, unlike Steph, more James Harden. Like Trey Man is wide open. What are you doing? But another reliable shot in his bag is the floater. Last year, Ball had about four of these per game on 48%. Only player with higher volume and efficiency was Trey Young. And he’s great at slowing down in pick and roll, putting his man in jail, use that size and length to rise up, hit the soft push shot. But what LaMelo doesn’t do enough is get all the way to the rim. He generally wants to avoid contact for some reason. Look at all this space he has in the paint as he turns the corner off the screen. But instead of attacking the big’s body, generating a layup or a foul, he picks up the ball early, avoids contact to a more difficult shot. Why? Cuz dude does have the tools to score at the rim. He is long as controlling footwork, but only gets the line five times a game. Should be way more for a guy with his usage rate. But that LaMelo ball vision, his biggest strength. Dude has eyes in the back of his head and the size to make any pass on the floor. This play here’s a perfect example. LaMelo blasts off the screen, then sees the weak side defense digging down to whip that left-handed pass through a tight window. Amazing. But hey, you know that you’re going to get some turnovers with an aggressive passer like that. Three and a half per game. And let’s be honest, a lot of these are his teammates just not being ready for the pass. But let’s switch over to defense because LaMelo gets a lot of hate for that. At 67, he can be an above average defender, but LaMelo’s focus is inconsistent. First, remember how he avoids contact. Yeah, he does that on screens, too. But if you give any top tier guard this much space as they come off a screen, your backlight defense going to get cooked. And that inconsistent focus bleeds over to LaMelo’s gap defense, there are many times where he lazily goes for a steal, leaves a wide open shot. Got lucky there. or just ball watching, having his back turned to the guy he’s on, which becomes a bucket. But the big concern here is we’ve rarely seen LaMelo in a true big- time must-win situation. Growing up, casual AA style of basketball, which has kind of been the same vibe in Charlotte for 5 years. But this is where Zack Low actually pushes back. He argues that many of LaMelo’s worst habits, shot selection, hero ball, aren’t really his fault. Who is he even supposed to be passing to? It’s not like Charlotte has built a contender around him. And honestly, the Hornets are where careers go to die. They have never had a true superstar, never made a conference finals, missed the playoffs nine straight years. There are a few teams that you do not want to be drafted by. Kings, Wizards, Pelicans, Hornets are on that list. I mean, you need Michael Jordan to turn that around. Oh, wait. But expecting LaMelo Ball to be that guy at 24 years old is unfair. But it also brings us to the third reason that these people doubt him. And the one thing that could flip this entire narrative because if LaMelo changes this, the critics will look ridiculous. Steph Curry once had the same label. Great talent, not a winner. Too small, too fragile, can’t lead a championship team. And they were right. Early on, his ankles almost ended his career and the Warriors flamed out in the playoffs. But in 2013-14, Steph reinvented himself. He rebuilt his body, hired trainers, but most importantly let go of his ego. He embraced Steve Kerr’s ball movement system instead of chasing stats, and that decision unlocked a dynasty. Giannis Antakmpo was another example. Four years, the knock was simple. Okay, you build a wall, he’s done. Regular season star, not a winner. But Giannis locked himself in the gym the off seasonason, attacked his weaknesses, free throws, finishing through contact, and by the 2021 finals, he was hitting 17 of 19 at the line, a 50 point closeout game. So, what does Steph and Giannis have in common? They cared about winning over everything else. The hate bothered them and fueled them to change. Some players are satisfied with an allstar and a max contract, which is fine. But is that LaMelo? I’m not sure. Maybe. You can usually feel when somebody is more a James Harden than a Steph Curry. When the vibes matter more than the banners, but to be fair, LaMelo is 24 years old. He has been pigeonholed a goofball since he was a kid. The little brother on a reality show with a WWE promoter for a dad. And that perception has stuck. So, forget things like his defense, okay? Guys like Steph or Steve Nash proved. You can win without that being like all world. LaMelo’s path though to proving people wrong isn’t something physical. It’s mental because right now the league doubts him just like it once doubted Steph and Giannis. The only question is does he care enough and can he stay healthy to prove them all wrong? But some guys the league are out on and are really out on because they’re out of the league. The number one guy I’m talking about is Bull Bowl. He had six straight years to prove he was an NBA player and now he is out of the league. And a lot of people would say, “Oh, it’s just because he couldn’t hack it, he sucks.” But actually, in his last year with Phoenix, there was one incident that took him down. After this one thing happened, we may never see him in the league again.

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Before the NBA year begins, one thing is clear from all these “season previews” – people are out on LaMelo Ball. Rankings have him way below his potential and experts say he’s not a winning player. This is a look at who is making these claims and a full film breakdown to see if they are right.