LaMelo Ball is become a household name in the world of basketball.
The 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year is helping put the Charlotte Hornets back on the map and into playoff contention in his second season.
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers knows a lot about coaching and coaching against star point guards, and he sees the just how special Ball is.
“I said it last year, every time you watch him, he brings joy to the game. You want to play with him,” Rivers said of LaMelo.
Ball and the Hornets outlasted the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, ending the 76ers’ seven-game winning streak while also extending their own streak to four-games.
“It’s funny, coach and I were talking, I think we played them in the preseason game, and we were talking about him and I was like ‘That kid when he comes on the floor, your team gets excited’. You don’t see that very often,” Rivers said.
Ball, like his brother Lonzo, has that pass-first mentality, which you don’t see too often in today’s NBA as point guards have began to shift into more dynamic, scoring type of players instead of just setting up their teammates.
In his sophomore season, LaMelo is averaging 19.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 38% from 3-point range, all improvement over his Rookie of the Year campaign.
“We were watching film today, when he gets the rebound, you’ve never seen guys run so hard because they know there’s a good chance they’ll get the ball,” Rivers said of Ball. “He’s just special that way — he scores, he makes big baskets, he doesn’t get a lot of credit defensively, he’s got great hands, he’s very competitive — so he’s got a lot of good things going on with him.”
The Hornets have a star on their hands, that’s to be certain.
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