\u2014 Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) April 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHis genuine, authentic desire to win and want to win is real. I think from the outside looking in, I\u2019m not sure everyone knows that. But I\u2019m here to say it, obviously experiencing it, he wants to win. He wants to win at the highest level. That\u2019s his goals and he\u2019s willing to do what it takes in order to do it. We\u2019ve got to continue to teach him how and teach the rest of the team how.<\/p>\n \u201cEarlier in the year, we were talking about the back-to-back against the Pacers and Toronto when we had an opportunity to win in one of them, and he threw a lob. He learned from that. There was growth there. There was a game a month later where he didn\u2019t throw the lob. Simple little things like that show improvement and show improvement in the how to win. For him, he\u2019s got all the talent in the world. His desire to win is what\u2019s going to take him to that next level in his NBA career and what\u2019s going to take the organization to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n Ball has held himself accountable after poor decisions or games, just like he did following the trip of Adebayo. He’s not taking nearly as many low-percentage shots as he used to, but that was partially because he had no choice but to. Now, he’s got shotmakers around him that spread the floor and allow him to playmake. Of course, every now and then, he’ll take a shot that he probably shouldn’t, but it’s not as big a problem as it once was. Plus, he improved his defense tremendously this season. He cares.<\/p>\n Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter for the latest news and updates on the Charlotte Hornets<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
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