LaMelo Ball deemed 'most overrated' NBA player for silly reasons

LaMelo Ball often finds himself on "most overrated" lists. The Charlotte Hornets guard is uber talented, but the team doesn't win much, and he struggles with efficiency and health. The NBA is also full of top-end talent, which makes it harder for him to stand out.

It's definitely somewhat fair to call him overrated, and I say that as a massive fan of his game. There is, admittedly, a little bit of a gap between his fan perception and his actual performance, especially this year.

However, he landed number one on Bleacher Report writer Zach Buckley's list of the most overrated players in the NBA. That's harsh, and the reasons for it are not totally fair criticisms, either. The first point is the team success argument.

"Should he solely be blamed for all of the Hornets' losing ways? Of course not," Buckley said. "But you'd expect him to be this transcendent talent, and in reality, he's someone whose on-court presence has only helped his team by 1.5 points per 100 possessions for his career."

When Ball has been on the floor for the Hornets, throughout his entire career, he's been surrounded by maybe one other threatening player, so the defense can easily clue in on him.

That hurts the metrics sometimes, because Ball won't perform as well with extra defensive attention, and the teammates are often not good enough to help out there.

Juxtapose that career mark with 2025-26, when he's not even been as good as usual but has more help. The Hornets are 6.4 points better with him on the floor.

LaMelo Bal — Jan 5, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Lamelo Ball (1) drives to the basket around Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The second argument is that his skills aren't as useful as they could be. "Despite possessing some of the deepest range in the business, he's just average in accuracy (career 36.5 percent) due to his wildly ambitious shot selection," Buckley argued.

It's a little ridiculous to criticize a player for shooting 36.5% from three for his entire career. He's not Steph Curry and probably does need to shoot a little less, but that's a fine percentage, and a lot of those are high-difficulty threes.

Buckley criticized his finishing ability, which is totally fair. It leaves a lot to be desired for someone with good handles and great size for a guard. However, Buckley also criticized his inability to draw fouls, which says a whole lot more about how he's refereed than his own perceived lack of skill.

Ball drives a lot and gets contact, but he doesn't get a friendly whistle. That also plays into the shot selection with some of his wilder three-point attempts, but that's a story for another day.

"He makes preternatural-type passes, but he also takes a lot of unnecessary risks, resulting in a good-not-great 7.5 assists against 3.4 turnovers," Buckley added. When someone is capable of the passes Ball is, turnovers are going to come, with some of them not being his fault necessarily.

There are plenty of valid criticisms for Ball, and he is probably a little bit overrated. It's just that he's not the most overrated, and some of these criticisms are not accurate.

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