Nov 4, 2023; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) pulls forward Brandon Miller (24) away from the crowd in the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Too low or just right? Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball land on B/R Top 100 rank

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 12:10 PM ET

The Charlotte Hornets currently have two legitimate stars on the roster. Everyone knows how good both LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller are. The jury is out on others, including Kon Knueppel, Collin Sexton , and Miles Bridges.

Those two are the foundational pieces, so it is very helpful for those cornerstones to be considered good among NBA players. Both of them landed in the top 100 by Bleacher Report, but where did they land, and is it too high, low, or just right?

Brandon Miller might be underrated

Brandon Miller, according to Bleacher Report's staff, is the 77th-best basketball player in the NBA.
"Taken No. 2 by the Hornets in 2023, Miller came in third in Rookie of the Year voting that season. He seemed poised for a breakout sophomore year, initially averaging 21 points a game. Unfortunately, he suffered a wrist injury that sidelined him after 27 games," Eric Pincus wrote.

Pincus also admitted that the Hornets were a "tough watch" while Miller was sidelined. Now that he's healthy, the Hornets could be surprisingly good. That doesn't mean a playoff push, but a "much better year" is likely with Miller back. "[He] projects to be a dynamic wing scorer with the size, length, and agility to defend multiple positions. He'll need to step into that potential for the Hornets to emerge from obscurity," Pincus concluded.

77 is solid given the fact that he played only 27 games last season, but the talent is undeniable. It's worth arguing that he might be deserving of a slightly higher rank. He might be better than Toumani Camara, Michael Porter Jr., Jrue Holiday, and Josh Giddey at this point, putting him in the high 70s.

LaMelo Ball earns mostly fair NBA rank from B/R

According to the list, LaMelo Ball is the 45th-best NBA player. That's hardly an unfair ranking, since Ball does struggle with efficiency, health, and turning the ball over. It's balanced out by unmatched creativity and shot-making, but you have to take the good with the bad.

"Ball is a fun player to watch. He gets up and down the floor quickly, takes (and makes, sometimes) wild shot attempts, and is a high-level assist generator. His team, however, has been reliably awful throughout most of Ball's young career," Pincus wrote.

While his talent was always debatably there, Pincus argued that health has made that mostly irrelevant. With Ball healthy, this Hornets team has a young, exciting roster. They're probably not, in Pincus' eyes, ready to mirror the 2024-25 Detroit Pistons, but the play-in is possible.

"In the meantime, Ball's lack of availability, coupled with his team's inability to make the postseason, suggests his prolific output may be empty calories. Now is an ideal time for Ball to shake that reputation," Pincus concluded. For now, it's hard to argue with that sentiment, although Ball's teammates have never been all that useful. Still, 45 feels right for this stage of the player's career.