Longstanding LaMelo Ball question is finally getting an answer

Critics of the Charlotte Hornets during this decade have frequently asked the question of whether LaMelo Ball is truly a "winning player." Now, as this team continues improving and is playing some of the most impressive basketball of any team in the Association, it should be clearer than ever that the answer to this question is undoubtedly yes.

It's obvious that some pundits who have perpetuated this question over the years have done so in bad faith. There are some that only want to sully Ball's name and don't have interest in taking proper context for his situation into account. But to be fair, the Hornets had struggled to win games for the better part of the last several seasons. So just looking at win totals, you could say there was some sort of argument to be made.

However, when you begin to peel back the layers a bit, you immediately find that almost none of Charlotte's struggles in the last few years were because of LaMelo and his style of play. In fact, one trend with this team has been how its overall performance very consistently dips when number one isn't available to play, or is off the floor. That is a near-universal sign of a winning player.

If you just want to look at winning percentage, the Hornets have won 42% of their games since 2020 when Ball plays, and only 26% of their games without him available to play. In terms of overall offensive output, Charlotte's offensive rating drops from 113.4 with LaMelo in the lineup vs 108.9 with him out for his career.

LaMelo Ball unquestionably plays a winning brand of basketball

And there's been no greater example of how much better Charlotte is with Ball than this season. Starting December 18, he has now played in 19 games in a row as of this writing. As LaMelo's availability has increased, so has this team's performance.

In their last 15 games, the Hornets rank first in the NBA in offensive rating, second-chance points, and three-point percentage. They also hold the top net rating of any squad in the league in the last 10 games, and are the only team outside the top eight of the standings in either conference to hold a positive point differential for the season. To keep piling on the accolades, Charlotte's average scoring margin of +19.3 in wins this season is the highest in NBA history.

You just can't say enough positive things about how far this team has come in a short amount of time, and LaMelo Ball has to be at the forefront of this conversation. If you're still not convinced, this statistic is the final blow: With Ball in the lineup this season, the Hornets operate at a level that would place them third offensively in the NBA, but without him, that same offense drops to 27th, a swing of more than six points per 100 possessions.

At some point, this discussion has to move past surface-level narratives and toward what the evidence has been showing all along. LaMelo very clearly raises Charlotte’s ceiling and directly impacts winning basketball. This is now well-documented, and increasingly impossible to ignore as this version of the Hornets continues to take shape.