Carmelo Anthony goes to bat for LaMelo Ball's criticized playing style

LaMelo Ball led the NBA in one-legged threes by a wide margin in 2024-25. He made them at a decent clip, too, so the Charlotte Hornets were more than willing to live with it.

Ball has often been criticized for his playing style. He's been called the most unserious player in the league, with critics taking aim at those one-legged threes as well as his stepback shots and other creative attempts.

Generally, his unique and unfiltered playing style is seen as a negative, a drawback to his otherwise solid skillset. But Carmelo Anthony, a former NBA legend, believes it's not a bad thing, and it doesn't mean Ball doesn't care about the sport.

Carmelo Anthony says LaMelo Ball plays basketball like he’s in NBA2K 😭

“He a video game, he’s 2K. There’s a difference between playing free, and freedom…. If I feel like shooting this b*tch off one leg from 3, I’m gonna do it. It’s not that I don’t care I just feel so free… pic.twitter.com/9uJ2bkrWIo
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) January 12, 2026

Anthony and his co-hosts did initially say that it looks like Ball doesn't care when he plays, but they looked at it from the angle that it means he's comfortable and unafraid while on the court. "

“He a video game, he’s 2K," Anthony added. "There’s a difference between playing free and freedom. LaMelo really cares about the game, that's just how he fell in love with the game... If I feel like shooting this b***h off one leg from three, I’m gonna do it. It’s not that I don’t care, I just feel so free playing this game that this is comfortable to me."

Anthony said all the carefree things Ball does on the court make him "electrifying," citing his one-handed lobs from halfcourt along with his stepback, one-legged three-point shots.

He even said it's good that the Hornets let him do what he wants to do, because it allows them to build around someone Anthony said was "legit." In a world where Ball's style and his attitude on the court are intensely criticized, the former New York Knicks star is a welcome change of pace.

When Ball plays, the Hornets do better, especially when he plays alongside Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller. Crazy shots or not, Ball does make the Hornets a better team, so if that's what it takes, so be it. That seems to be how Anthony, who was also referred to as "Melo," feels about the point guard.

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