NBA Feature: Let’s Talk About the Way We Speak About LaMelo Ball

Editor’s Note: It’s with great pride we introduce Kaden Cho as one of our guest contributors! He’s going to bring some of his fresh perspectives here, and you can follow him at @kady1735.

LaMelo Ball is the Timberwolves’ premier addition this offseason, and with that label, discussions have inevitably started about how impactful he really is. The 25-year-old is coming off his first healthy season in years, finally surpassing the 50 game barrier, and leading the best starting lineup in the league in terms of net rating.

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This has rightfully garnered Ball praise as one of the best offensive engines in the world, and while some still harbor grievances about his injury struggles, there remains a camp that believes he is simply not good at all. To them, he’s “reckless,” “inefficient,” and the biggest of his detractors will even call him “stupid”.

This narrative is generally associated with turnover issues, but the Wolves’ new point guard was actually in the 71st percentile among his positional group in creation-adjusted turnover percentage this season. This stat reflects that Ball suppressed turnovers relative to his 94th percentile on-ball load.

Rather, much of the talk about Ball’s playstyle hinges on our perception of his playmaking process, rather than the results of that creation. He is often degraded as being “made for TikTok”, in a way that connotes the idea that he is exclusively a highlight player. The one-legged threes and no-look passes certainly feed into that view, but we must take more than one look at any player that we evaluate.

Why brand LaMelo as “reckless” rather than “innovative”? Ball’s way of playing basketball is groundbreaking and deserving of praise.

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Perhaps the way that we talk about him is informed by his off-court shenanigans, with him being brought up as one of the first major social media stars in basketball, which has only continued through his irresponsible driving.

It’s understandable why many use this mental shortcut. The Julian Newmans of the world, who came up around LaMelo’s time, definitely aren’t doing as well, and clips have spread that have only further…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nba-feature-let-talk-way-120000258.html

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Publish date : 2026-09-16 12:00:00

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