Predicting LaMelo Ball's 2024-25 Season Statistics

LaMelo Ball played only 22 games last year before an ankle injury ended his season. He started slowly due to limited training camp participation after a previous ankle surgery. However, between the 6th and 15th game of the season, he had his best stretch of his career for the Charlotte Hornets, averaging 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. His performance during those final 10 games was arguably the best of his career. However, the small sample size of these injury-affected games makes predicting his stats for next year challenging.

2023-24 → 2024-25 Prediction

Minutes: 32.3 → 32 .0
Points: 23.9 → 24.2
Rebounds: 5.1 → 6.1
Assists: 8.0 → 7.7
Turnovers: 3.8 → 3.1
Steals: 1.8 → 1.7
Blocks: 0.2 → 0.3
FG: 43% → 46%
3FG: 35.5% → 38%
FT: 86.5% → 84%

Explanation

Projecting Ball's season is tough because he's rarely been healthy over the past two seasons, missing significant time. This undoubtedly affects his development. However, I believe we'll see a more efficient LaMelo Ball, as head coach Charles Lee favors a team-oriented offense rather than a high-usage role for Ball. This should improve his efficiency and reduce turnovers. With the emergence of Miller and Bridges, his scoring will likely stay about the same, but his assist numbers may see a slight increase.

The Hornets could look to manage Ball's minutes on back to backs this season following a nightmare two years of injuries. I haven't predicted "Games played" for players, but it wouldn't surprise me if Ball plays under the 65 game threshold to make him ineligible for NBA All-Star and All-NBA selections.