LaMelo Ball Receives Average Ranking Among NBA Point Guards

Did the Hornets star guard receive a fair evaluation?

Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball's number one goal in 2024-25 is to stay on the floor, which is something he's been unable to do over the past couple of seasons. The Hornets can't even begin to think about doing anything of note in the Eastern Conference unless he's on the floor and making a difference.

His vision, awareness, shooting, and all-around offensive playmaking ability are what make him one of the most fun watches in the entire NBA. Where does he rank among others at his position though?

Frank Urbina of Hoops Hype recently ranked the top 30 point guards in the NBA, slotting Ball at No. 14.

"LaMelo Ball was a tricky player to rank for this exercise as he’s a bit of a wild card – he’s great when he plays but he misses a lot of time due to injury and his team success, even when he’s playing, is quite lacking. That’s a pretty notable list of names Ball found himself alongside last season with his averages. It’s mostly just health missing from Ball’s game, as the bombastic scorer and visionary playmaker looks like a perennial All-Star when he is on the floor for Charlotte."

Ball checks in behind Trae Young, Kyrie Irving, Jamal Murray, and Cade Cunningham while ranking just ahead of James Harden, Derrick White, Darius Garland, Jrue Holiday, and Dejounte Murray. I'd make the argument that Ball should be ahead of Cunningham, but overall, it's a pretty fair spot considering how many games he's missed over the last two years.

In the 22 games Ball did appear in last season, he averaged 23.9 points, eight assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 43% from the floor and 35% from three.

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