The Charlotte Hornets are no longer just a feel-good story. They are a genuine playoff threat in the Eastern Conference. Thursday’s 114-103 win over the New York Knicks was the latest proof. After the final buzzer, LaMelo Ball made clear exactly who deserves credit for the player and the competitor he has become.
LaMelo Ball Gives Father LaVar Ball His Flowers After Hornets Beat the Knicks
When asked about the Hornets’ recent surge in his post-game interview with NBA TV, Ball did not hesitate to bring up the man who built his foundation. “I was born for moments like this. I’ve been hoopin’ my whole life, second nature for real. I feel like my pops got me right for these moments right here, so I just come and do what I love,” Ball said.
The words carried weight. LaVar Ball has long been one of the most polarizing figures in basketball, an outspoken father whose methods drew as much criticism as praise. But the results are difficult to argue with.
Two of his sons reached the NBA, but LiAngelo played only in the NBA G League and never appeared in an NBA regular-season game. Only Lonzo and LaMelo reached the NBA.
And LaMelo has grown into one of the game’s best young guards, now averaging 19.7 points, 7.1 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game on 40.7 percent shooting this season.
Thursday’s win over the Knicks was not Ball’s biggest statistical night. He finished with 22 points, six assists, and five rebounds on 50 percent shooting, but it came against one of the East’s top teams. It delivered the Hornets their seventh win in their last ten games. It was the kind of performance that signals a team peaking at the right moment rather than riding a soft stretch of schedule.
Rookie Kon Knueppel stole the spotlight on the night, but the Hornets’ rise has been a collective effort. Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Knueppel have formed a core that has genuinely troubled opposing teams down the stretch. Charlotte’s record now sits at 39-34, placing them within 1.5 games of the sixth and final automatic playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Hornets’ late-season surge has not gone unnoticed around the league. Charlotte has quietly become a team that contenders do not want to see in the postseason bracket. All thanks to Ball’s playmaking, combined with a deep and versatile roster that has found its rhythm under head coach Charles Lee.
Yet, there’s skepticism blanketing the Hornets. NBA executives still question Ball’s maturity and leadership. Added to this, there’s virtually no playoff experience in his court that he can draw from. But the wins do keep coming.
Just days before the Knicks game, Charlotte dismantled the Sacramento Kings, piece by piece, 134-90. Ball contributed 20 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds in that game, climbing to second on the Hornets’ all-time three-pointers list.
It seems that Ball isn’t bothered by outside noise. He instills confidence on and off the court, no matter what critics say.
