Reliving LaMelo Ball's 10 Best Moments as a Charlotte Hornet

Few players across the NBA can match the highlight reel of former Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball. As his time in North Carolina has come to an end, it's only fitting to look back at his ten best plays in the purple and teal.

10. An electrifying Alley-Oop to Montrezl Harell

It came in a game that was already out of hand and on a fast break that was anything but defended. Nevertheless, the pass by Ball was both flashy and precise, making for a fun play and number ten on this list.

9. A slick snatch-back in Los Angeles

An often underrated part of Ball's game is his ability to change pace at the drop of a dime. This three-pointer proves that, like few other shots.

Sure, DeAndre Ayton isn't the most prolific perimeter defender, but this was an important late-season game against a strong opponent, making the context a little more important and raising this play to the ninth spot.

8. The Ball-and-Bridges connection brings down the Alien

The Spurs weren't as good as they are now back in February of 2025, but they were expected to beat an at that point lowly Hornets team.

Alas, they did not. LaMelo played a crucial role in Charlotte's upset win, scoring 24 points and dishing out his tenth assist of the night to Miles Bridges, who made a wide-open three from the corner for the win.

7. "The greatest shot by LaMelo Ball"

Eric Collins' reaction on commentary might just be a little overly exuberant, but can you blame him? Not only was this shot flat-out unbelievable, but it was also unexpectedly crucial to secure the win.

The score might seem lopsided in the clip above, but this game actually ended up going to overtime, where the Hornets gutted it out. That obviously would not have happened without these three points put up on the board.

6. A new Franchise-Record for threes

Yes, I wrote earlier that context matters, and this was a relatively meaningless blowout win over the dreadful Washington Wizards.

But it's still a performance that's etched into the Hornets' history books and includes some ludicrous threes in the second half, as LaMelo finished with ten triples on his way to the record.

5. Game-Tying Shot against the Sixers

This is the clutchest LaMelo shot so far. It came in an early-season meeting against the Philadelphia 76ers two years ago, with both teams extremely decimated. No Embiid and Maxey for the hosts; no Bridges, Williams, or Richards for Charlotte.

That meant extra responsibilities for Ball, who took thirty shots that evening. He didn't make many of them, but he came up big when it mattered most, forcing overtime in what would eventually be a two-point loss.

4. Fifty-Piece in Milwaukee

Ball's career-high came shortly after his game-tying shot in Philadelphia, and was an equally valiant effort in what turned out to be another close loss.

The tape from this game shows the best of both worlds from LaMelo: Some tough shot-making from all over the floor, but also a great understanding of how to manipulate the defense to get better looks.

3. Lock-Down Defense on Tyrese Haliburton

Not known for his impeccable defense, this is THE standout moment for LaMelo Ball from that end of the court. In a game where Tyrese Haliburton scored 43 points, Ball fearlessly took on the assignment after being switched onto him and had the last laugh.

2. An absolutely ridicolous shot and the start of something special

It was the fifth of January earlier this year, and the Hornets' season was pretty much dead in the water. With a 12-23 record and injuries again prevailing, it seemed like another lost year.

But as is known today, something changed in those winter months, and the first real sign of that came in a blowout win against the defending champions.

That game was filled with beautiful team basketball by the Hornets, but the undoubtedly biggest highlight came from the head of the snake. With no time on the shot clock and only one leg on the ground, Ball threw up a Hail Mary - and made it.

1. The last shot in Spectrum Center

There should be no debate about this. LaMelo Ball's game-winning layup in the 9 vs 10 play-in game against the Miami Heat is not only his greatest moment as a Hornet but also the greatest moment in recent Hornets history.

It was the culmination of all of the bad years, criticisms, and failed projects the team and fans had endured over the previous years.

The shot itself is less impressive than some others on this list, but the moment and pressure are by far at their biggest here. The fact that it simultaneously was Ball's final field goal as a Hornet at Spectrum Center only makes it more poetic.

To reminisce some more on Ball's time in Charlotte or hear our writers' thoughts on his departure, you can listen to THIS episode of the official Hornets on SI podcast.

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