When the 2024-25 season started, there was a glimmer of hope that the Charlotte Hornets could have two representatives in the All-Star Game.
The last time LaMelo Ball had a healthy campaign, he earned a ticket to the midseason exhibition. Meanwhile, Brandon Miller looked poised to make a leap in his sophomore year after demonstrating he was one of the best players of last season's rookie class.
Nearly a month into the regular season, Ball has proven that all he needs to do to return to elite form is just stay healthy. If he is able to keep it up, he should be a shoo-in for the All-Star Game — at least as a reserve. However, based on Miller's recent performances, his chances of possibly joining his teammate have inched much closer to zero.
Proposed new ASG format could benefit BMiller
The only way for the Hornets wing to become an All-Star is for him to turn the corner from what has looked like a sophomore slump.
He has had some impressive outings this season, including a 29-point performance in the team's blowout victory over the Indiana Pacers and hitting his first-ever game-winning buzzer-beater against the Detroit Pistons. However, the story of Miller's season has been his inefficient scoring through his first nine appearances.
The University of Alabama product has converted just 35.3 percent of his field-goal attempts, including shooting 30.6 percent from beyond the arc. As a comparison, he had shooting clips of 44.0 percent from the field and 37.3 from 3-point land in his rookie year.
As a result, Miller is averaging 15.3 points per contest, although a silver lining is that he has dished out 3.8 assists per match. Still, those numbers would obviously not be enough for voters to put him in the All-Star Game.
Interestingly, there might still be a way for him to crash the party.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the league is busy looking for means to make the All-Star Game more competitive. It certainly needs fresh ideas after the debacle last season when the East vs. West affair turned into a glorified layup line, with the East winning 211-186.
The insider reported that the NBA is "in serious discussions" about implementing a tournament-style format where the 24 voted All-Stars would be grouped into three units, with the winner of the Rising Stars Challenge joining the competition to complete the four-team lineup.
If the proposal gains the approval of the competition committee, it could open up a path for Miller to suit up against a collection or two of the league's best players in this campaign. Of course, he still has to make sure that he gets to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge. Not getting an invite to the event would certainly be disastrous for the 21-year-old swingman and the Hornets.