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NBA Legend Sends Strong Message to LaMelo Ball Over Winning Mentality After Cavs-Hornets
Jan 24, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) dribbles on Detroit Pistons guard Monte Morris (5) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

NBA Legend Sends Strong Message to LaMelo Ball Over Winning Mentality After Cavs-Hornets

Originally posted on EssentiallySports
By Siddharth Rawat  |  Last updated Dec 23, 2025 3:02 AM ET

LaMelo Ball has never blended in. From the moment the electric guard was drafted, he’s earned a reputation for playing with a flair that turns routine possessions into highlights and makes Charlotte Hornets games worth tuning into, even when the standings suggest otherwise. But after the team’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight, one legendary point guard has shifted the conversation from how he plays to what kind of player he ultimately wants to be.

“He’s a real difference maker,” former Detroit Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas said on the nationally televised Peacock broadcast. “The decision he has to make, does he want to entertain and be a fun guy, or does he want to win?”

It isn’t a critique of Ball’s talent, but a challenge to his priorities. When asked by his co-hosts what LaMelo needs to do now, Thomas was clear:

“All the players around the league like him. When they start hating him and disliking him, that’s when he’ll start winning. And right now, he’s got to make a decision. Do I want to win or do I want to be liked?”

That message comes as a familiar truth in the NBA. Thomas, a similar level of flashy playmaker to Ball back in his playing days, was a part of one of the league’s most hated teams, the ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons of the late 80s, but was also a consummate winner: a two-time champion, and 1990 Finals MVP. His words come from experience: once the league hated him, he reached the mountain-top.

It’s that same lesson he wants Ball to understand. The Hornets have won over 30 games just once after his rookie year, and the guard has struggled with injuries throughout his career, playing just over 51 games just once over his first five years. If the team is going to get better, it’s going to start with Ball, and that showed in tonight’s game.

LaMelo Ball Leads Youth Movement as Hornets Flash Promise but Fall Short

The Charlotte Hornets didn’t lack firepower or fight. LaMelo Ball finished tonight’s game with 23 points and nine assists, helping lead Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel add 20 each as the team began to a 36-33 lead after an energetic opening quarter. Ball and Knueppel each hit 15 by halftime, and pushed the pace to keep the Cavaliers uncomfortable to show how dangerous their young core can be.

The night was turned on the defensive end. The Cavs torched the Hornets with efficiency that they simply could not match, shooting 55% from the field and over 54% from three. Donovan Mitchell drilled a buzzer-beater three at halftime swung momentum, and a late third-quarter surge stretched the game just out of reach. Despite a season-high 14 rebounds and career-best six steals from Moussa Diabate, Charlotte couldn’t slow the Cavs down.

The loss is yet another in a familiar pattern for the Hornets. The team was shorthanded, missing Collin Sexton and Ryan Kalkbrenner, Ball and the team showed growth, depth and a balanced scoring effort, but their inconsistencies continued to doom them late in games. Turning flashes into wins remains the next hurdle for this team.

This article first appeared on EssentiallySports and was syndicated with permission.

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