LaMelo Ball somehow still ranked behind Pacers star in Top 100 ranking

LaMelo Ball is off to a fantastic start, but he's still behind a struggling NBA star in the rankings.

Nov 16, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) during the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

LaMelo Ball is off to a fantastic start this year, averaging over 28 points per game. He's playing the kind of basketball the Charlotte Hornets have long envisioned for their superstar, and it's resulted in a major rise in the Ringer's NBA Player Rankings. Inexplicably, there are some names ahead of Ball that, this season, don't make much sense.

Ball has risen to 27th in the latest rankings, and Danny Chau wrote, "LaMelo is the biggest riser in the top half of the rankings, suddenly knocking on the door of the top 25. Shouldering the kind of offensive burden Ball carries nightly should be no easy task, yet LaMelo does it with aplomb and a s**t-eating grin. His usage rate is trending toward one of the highest figures the league has ever seen; the only other players who have ever averaged the number of 3s Ball is taking every night (never mind hitting them at a league-average clip, which he’s also doing) are Steph Curry and James Harden, two of the most influential offensive players of the past quarter century."

The Hornets guard is playing exceptionally well, and that includes a bit of a dud last time out. He was benched for the final four minutes after a 12-point display. He was 3/13 and had just missed and committed a frustration foul when he was pulled. Despite that, the 28.4/6.6/4.8 stat line on almost 43% (36% from three) shooting is overall very good.

However, Ball still ranks behind a struggling Tyrese Haliburton. The Indiana Pacers star is slashing 15.3/8.5/3.5 and shooting 37.5% from the field and 28.4% from three. There's nothing Haliburton is doing better than Ball aside from assisting, and even that isn't a wide margin.

Brandon Miller lands in top 100 of NBA Rank

Brandon Miller had a fantastic rookie season. His ascension hasn't quite taken off yet, though a 28-point outing on 11/17 shooting against the Nets will help. He's averaging 15.3 points on 30.6% from three, both numbers that should improve as he gets better this year.

He finds himself at 83rd on the Ringer's ranking thanks to his overall performance, which ranks ahead of Dyson Daniels, Anfernee Simons, Dereck Lively II, Cam Thomas, and Chris Paul among others. Miller has struggled to shoot the ball this year (55.2% true shooting), but he excelled last year and should come back around.

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