LaMelo Ball is a Potential All-Star

The 2020 NBA Draft has been criticized for being weak due to its lack of a no brainer superstar No. 1 overall pick, but there are still a few prospects who could possibly turn into all-star quality players. One of those prospects is Illawarra Hawks’ point guard, LaMelo Ball.

If you would’ve told me a few years back when LaMelo was just a skinny 5’10 kid with frosted tips that he would be in consideration for the no. 1 overall pick, I would’ve said you were crazy. Back then he was an inconsistent shot chucker who didn’t try on defense and played a style of basketball that wouldn’t lead to winning at any level past high school. A nine-inch growth spurt and a plane ride to Australia later and now LaMelo Ball is a legitimate NBA prospect.

Ball is a very intriguing prospect. He plays the game with such an advanced basketball I.Q. and as a player, he is mature beyond his years. It seems like every game he’ll make a read or a pass that leaves me speechless with my jaw on the floor. His court vision is off the charts and he’s very creative as both a playmaker and ball handler. Although he is a special floor general with unbelievably good passing instincts, he does have some glaring flaws which I’ll get into later.

The first thing you notice about LaMelo is his size. At 6’7 he is much bigger than the average point guard (6’3) which allows him to see more of the court and gives him an advantage as a passer. His size also allows him to get shots off easily even with his unorthodox shooting mechanics. Players that big usually aren’t as skilled and don’t play with as much fluidity as LaMelo.

Next, let’s take a look at his exceptionable playmaking ability

At the beginning of the play, LaMelo cuts to the basket but gets cut off. He immediately runs to the left corner and runs a pick and roll with David Anderson. LaMelo’s defender gets caught on the screen and when the big man comes up to cover him, he has no choice but to attempt a behind-the-back pass because he’s perpendicular to the defender. The pass gets through the defenders and hits Anderson right in the hands, leading to a wide-open dunk. Ball has to make the decision to throw an extremely difficult pass in a very tight space in less than a second while also trying to throw the pass accurately and not turn the ball over. If you want to show someone one play that exhibits Ball’s vision and feel for the game, this is the one.

The Hawks run a high pick and roll at the top of the key and the Taipans trap LaMelo so he makes a nice live dribble pass to David Anderson for a wide-open three. This isn’t a mindblowing play but it’s a really good read by LaMelo and shows he can make a variety of passes out of the pick and roll.

One of the best parts of LaMelo’s game is his overall feel for the game. If you don’t know what “feel for the game” is, it’s an intangible aspect of basketball that can’t be measured by numbers that basically means natural basketball instincts. It’s hard to describe, but when a player has a good feel for the game you just know it and LaMelo has a great feel for the game.

His instincts were on full display when ESPN’s Mike Schmitz did a film study with him a few months ago. During the film session, Schmitz would ask LaMelo what he saw during a specific play and why he did what he did and he kept saying he was playing off instincts and couldn’t explain why he did certain things. If he was truly playing off pure instincts this season that’s insane.

Although LaMelo is a phenomenal passer, that’s not all he does. He also happens to be a really crafty scorer.

He only ranked 35th percentile in Isolation, 34th percentile on jump shots off the dribble, and 26th percentile on all halfcourts jump shots, but this season he showed he has the ability to get to the rim and score off the catch and off the dribble.

This is some pretty advanced shot-making. LaMelo comes off the handoff, hits his defender with a between-the-legs dribble right into a behind-the-back, and pulls up with no hesitation.

LaMelo does a great job of compensating for his lack of athleticism by changing speeds and playing at different tempos. On this play, he uses a hesitation to freeze the defense in transition and takes the ball to the rack for an easy layup.

As good as LaMelo is offensively, there are some things he has to clean up on both ends of the court. Let’s start with his shooting mechanics. LaMelo shoots with his elbows flared out and his mechanics overall are inconsistent which is why he’s never been an efficient shooter. His weird mechanics are a result of his father making him shoot deep threes while he was still developing as a young kid even though he wasn’t strong enough. This helped develop his confidence but it also hurt him mechanically and he’ll need to change him jump shot if he ever wants to be an efficient shooter in the NBA. I’m actually confident he’ll improve as a shooter because he shot 72.3% from the free-throw line (historically the best indicator for shooting potential) which, combined with his touch and improving mechanics, leads me to believe he will be a good shooter in the NBA.

LaMelo’s biggest issue is his shot selection. There are times where he’ll take threes early on in the shot clock or he’ll shoot contested threes for absolutely no reason. Sometimes he’ll have a path to the basket but instead of attacking the basket, he’ll take a deep floater which isn’t a very smart shot. He needs to clean this up immediately.

LaMelo ranked in the 34th percentile on shots around the basket and the main reason why is because he hates contact. He refuses to take on contact near the basket so he resorts to floaters and makes what should be an easy shot a difficult one. I expect him to gain muscle and fill out his frame once he enters the NBA so I’m not too worried about this, but it’s something to keep your eye on.

One of the more concerning problems in LaMelo’s game is his defense. He ranked in the 2nd percentile in overall defense. That is unbelievably awful. He has never been asked to play man defense up to this point so I expect him to improve at the next level as he learns how to actually play defense because he’s too big to be absolutely awful on that end. However, his issue is giving a crap on defense. Too often he gets caught ball watching or wiping his shoes and he’ll give up an easy bucket. He is a smart defender and disrupts passes off the ball which hides some of his deficiencies, but he is approaching a Trae Young level of awful on defense.

LaMelo Ball is a bundle of potential waiting to burst and develop into an all-star caliber player. He’s a phenomenal passer with elite court vision and a great feel for the game who can score at a high level. I’m hesitant to put him at the #1 spot on my big board because of his defense, shot selection, and finishing woes, but he is still a really good prospect who should be no lower than a top-three prospect on anyone’s big board. I believe he can be an all-star if he works to clean up his deficiencies and I hope he proves all the doubters (like I once was) wrong. His progression over the last few years has been incredible to see and I can’t wait to see him become the player I think he can be.