LaMelo Ball joined Luka Doncic’s historic club during the Mavericks game
There’s an old adage in league circles that teams assume the identity of their best player. Although it is debatable who it is Charlotte Hornets‘ is the best player right now, there is no doubt about the impact LaMelo Ball holds over the rest of the list. Ball plays with so much joy and is almost so carefree to some it seems frivolousbut when he’s making shots and not having ankle issues, the Hornets can thrive.
On Thursday night, the Hornets survived a matchup against the Cooper Flagg-led Dallas Mavericks, eventually winning 123-121 thanks to some late game heroics from Kon Knuepel. Ball did his part in setting the table for his team, recording nine dinars, and in doing so passed the 2,000-assist mark for his career – reserving his inclusion in an exclusive stat-filling club.
As pointed out according to the Hornets’ official account on X (formerly Twitter), Ball became just the fifth player in NBA history to record 5,000 points, 1,500 rebounds and 2,000 assists in the first 300 games of his career, joining Luka Doncic, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson and the only player Walt Frazee.
The hornets continue to buzz
The Hornets have won their last five games, and this time they did it despite it being a close game. They got into the habit of winning games by a wide margin, but Flagg’s night with 49 points meant the Mavericks would not go away at any point in the game.
All five Hornets starters scored in double figures, led by Knuepel, who had a career-high 34 points. Ball had 22 points to go with his nine assists, and Brandon Miller added 23 of his own, including a late 3-pointer that gave the Hornets a three-point lead.
Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabat, for good measure, added 17 and 10 points, respectively, to fuel the Hornets’ buzzer-beating rush.
2026-01-30 05:16:00
