With everything that happened to the Charlotte Hornets in the 2024-25 campaign, it can be easy to forget that LaMelo Ball had proven to be a monster in the clutch. At some point, he was on pace to post the highest average points in the fourth quarter since 1997, when the league started tracking the stat.
Unfortunately, injuries stopped him in his tracks. As a consolation, the Hornets star still led all players last season in fourth-quarter scoring.
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report recently identified who should take the last shot for each NBA team this season. For Charlotte, the answer is painfully obvious. Cases can be made for Brandon Miller, Collin Sexton, and even Kon Knueppel, but Charlotte's best chances of winning close contests rest on Ball establishing control of the offense in crunch time.
As Swartz pointed out, Ball outpaced all players in the final period in scoring with 7.8 points per game. Coming in second was Kyrie Irving, who put up 7.7 markers per match. Interestingly, the 23-year-old point guard had a commanding lead over everyone else early in the campaign and could have been the first player to average double-digit points in the fourth since Russell Westbrook did it in 2017 had his health held up.
Hornets need LaMelo Ball to clutch it up again this year
It remains to be seen if Ball will reclaim his throne as the king of fourth-quarter scoring in 2026, although that is probably the least of the Hornets' priorities. What the team needs is for its best player to continue to deliver sound decision-making late in contests and put it in the best position to end up with the victory.
With different possible lineup combinations consisting of Miller, Sexton, Knueppel, and Miles Bridges flanking him, the 2021 Rookie of the Year can probably focus more on creating scoring opportunities for his teammates. That should also help address one of the shortcomings that he has to fix in order to become a more respectable star.
Still, if the Hornets need a miracle in closing time, they have to hand the ball to Melo and let him cook. It would be interesting to watch if he is capable of quickly deciding between taking the shot himself or finding the open man after collapsing the defense.
Of course, whether Ball can become a crunch-time hero again is contingent on his health. His bouts with injuries prevented him from making history last season. Hopefully, no such hindrance will stand in his way of helping Charlotte notch up as many wins as possible.