{"id":108116,"date":"2024-11-20T16:47:56","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T21:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=108116"},"modified":"2024-11-20T16:47:56","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T21:47:56","slug":"lamelo-ball-dennis-smith-jr-charlotte-hornets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/20\/lamelo-ball-dennis-smith-jr-charlotte-hornets\/","title":{"rendered":"Former LaMelo Ball Teammate Explains What ‘Sets Him Apart’"},"content":{"rendered":"

From 2022 to 2023, LaMelo Ball<\/a> and Dennis Smith<\/a> Jr. were teammates with the Charlotte Hornets<\/a>. Though they only played together briefly, Ball left an impact on the former lottery pick.<\/p>\n

In a recent appearance on the Run Your Race podcast (YouTube link<\/a>), Smith praised Ball’s dedication, citing this as what makes him stand out in the NBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaMelo Ball doesn\u2019t do anything but play basketball. He\u2019s always in the gym, putting in work. There\u2019ve been nights when I\u2019d come to the gym late, and he\u2019d just be finishing up. Even when he\u2019s playing video games, it\u2019s 2K. He\u2019s all about basketball. People don\u2019t understand how dedicated he is, but I\u2019ve seen it firsthand. Melo is one of those guys who lives and breathes the game. He\u2019s young, but he\u2019s already got that focus and work ethic that sets him apart.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Former LaMelo Ball Teammate, Dennis Smith Jr., Explains What ‘Sets Him Apart’<\/h2>\n

LaMelo Ball’s 2024-25 Season With the Charlotte Hornets<\/h3>\n

After playing just 58 games in the last two seasons, Ball has played all 14 games for the Hornets this season. In those games, he is averaging 28.4 points on 42.6% shooting. Additionally, he is averaging 4.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. The season is still young, but there is no denying that this is some of the best basketball Ball has played so far in the NBA. Furthermore, Ball’s teammate, Brandon Miller<\/a>, spoke about his ability to take over a game after the Hornets’ overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> on November 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s every game,\u201d Brandon Miller said<\/a>. \u201cI expect it every game. It\u2019s not anything surprising. I think that\u2019s what he does, is play at a high clip in this league. And he\u2019s going to keep getting better every day.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unfortunately for Ball and the team, this is a solid representation of how the Hornets’ season has gone so far.\u00a0Through 14 games, the Hornets currently have a 5-9 record, 11th-best in the Eastern Conference. Regardless, there is a lot to like about the Hornets roster and what they are capable of.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/h3>\n

Ball may be in the midst of his best season in the NBA, which is a big deal for the Hornets. There was never any doubt that the California native had talent. However, his injury concerns were very real as well. Ball played in more than 60 games just once in his NBA career–the 2021-22 season. This was also the only time Ball made an All-Star team. Additionally, the 2021-22 campaign was the only time after the 2015-16 season the Hornets had a winning record.<\/p>\n

Nobody expects the Hornets to become title contenders overnight. However, there is a lot of talent in Charlotte. Additionally, while a championship is likely not on their horizon, the Hornets can earn a playoff spot as soon as this season. A lot of their success will depend on Ball’s health. Roughly a month into the season, though, there is little reason to have doubts about Ball this season. He seems primed to make another All-Star team this season. Furthermore, he can lead the Hornets to the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From 2022 to 2023, LaMelo Ball and Dennis Smith Jr. were teammates with the Charlotte Hornets. Though they only played together briefly, Ball left an impact on the former lottery pick. In a recent appearance on the Run Your Race podcast (YouTube link), Smith praised Ball’s dedication, citing this as what makes him stand out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4631,"featured_media":108117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,7,2,62,3],"tags":[793,823],"class_list":["post-108116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-hornets","category-featured","category-nba","category-news","tag-dennis-smith-jr","tag-lamelo-ball"],"modified_by":"Elie Deglaoui","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}