LaMelo Ball is Being Slept On, Eric Collins Rightfully Claims

For years, the Charlotte Hornets seemingly revolved around LaMelo Ball. This is not at all surprising. He's a star and an uber-famous athlete, so it makes sense that a team mostly devoid of talent has just one noteworthy player.

This routinely turned into criticism of Ball, though. If he's so good, why are the Hornets not winning? Narratives formed that Ball wasn't a winning player. There was no mention of his teammates or the lack of starpower on the roster.

Now, the Hornets are winning, and Ball is playing perhaps the best he has ever played. Yet, all of a sudden, people want to talk about anyone but Ball. Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller rightfully get credit for the turnaround, but there's no mention that Ball is now a winning player or that he's having a career year.

📻 Eric Collins: "I've been surprised at how some people just don't really have the up-to-speed view of what LaMelo Ball has been doing over the last two months. LaMelo has been really, really good. He's been a top-25 player in the league over the last two months."

"He has been… pic.twitter.com/6F7Z5nJd95
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) March 19, 2026

Eric Collins pointed this out, and he's spot on. "I've been surprised at how some people just don't really have the up-to-speed view of what LaMelo Ball has been doing over the last two months. LaMelo has been really, really good. He's been a top-25 player in the league over the last two months," he said.

For the whole season, not just the last two scorching months of Ball's season, he has the fifth-best offensive rating among players with at least 30 games played. Among players with 1,200 minutes, he has the fourth-best on/off positive split. The Hornets are +12.6 in his minutes.

"He has been the head of the snake, and it seems like people are late to the party," Collins said. "Obviously, Kon (Knueppel) is phenomenal, can't say enough things about him, but I feel like sometimes people just sleep on LaMelo, which is crazy."

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) brings the ball up court against the Miami Heat | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Collins also pointed out that everyone wanted to talk when Ball and the Hornets were both struggling, even this season. But now? "I don't think he's getting as many flowers as he should," Collins added.

This is probably because the average fan doesn't quite understand how good he's been. Those metrics above are advanced analytics. His traditional metrics aren't as eye-popping.

That is influenced by poor efficiency, which at this point we can say is a feature of his game and almost a bonus for the Hornets' offense, and his low minute totals, which is a strategy designed to keep him healthy.

19.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game are pretty good. 40.2% from the field is not as good, and 36.4% from three is about average. But the fact of the matter, based on better stats, is that Ball has been great, but people don't want to discuss him.

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