Brian Windhorst slams LaMelo Ball, admits he's 'hated watching him this year'

After getting off to an incredible start to the 2024-25 season, Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has taken quite a step back, mainly from an efficiency standpoint. Many around the NBA have questioned his desire to win or the seriousness of his play and some analysts believe it could lead to the Hornets eventually being open to the idea of trading him.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst has defended LaMelo in the past, but he's apparently reached his tipping point and is of the belief that Ball is not playing quality basketball.

“At the beginning of the season, I was very high on LaMelo, and I’ve hated watching him this year," Windhorst said on ESPN's The Hoop Collective podcast. "I was hoping coming back healthy, he was going to take steps forward. I was hoping that he, with new coaching and new systems, was going to be not so much of an embarrassment defensively because, at the end of the day, he does have good size. And instead, his shot selection has just degraded. I fought against you at the beginning of the season, I was optimistic about LaMelo taking steps this year. In my opinion, he has not.”

🎙️ @WindhorstESPN: "At the beginning of the season, I was very high on LaMelo (Ball), and I’ve hated watching him this year."

"I was hoping with new coaching and new systems, he would be less of an embarrassment defensively. Instead, his shot selection has just degraded..." 🤨 pic.twitter.com/WVNVaS1BP3
— r/CharlotteHornets on Reddit (@HornetsReddit) March 21, 2025

While Windhorst and others are right about LaMelo's shot selection, the one thing they're forgetting is that this team has been injured for much of the season. With Brandon Miller out for the year, Tre Mann being out since the first week of the year, and Mark Williams in and out with the injury and trade fiasco, who else is going to score the basketball for the Hornets? Someone has to take those shots, so it might as well be your best offensive playmaker, right?

If the Hornets are healthier next season and Ball continues to have questionable shot selection and marginal defense, then the complaints become valid.

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