Mar 1, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) attempts a three-point shot against the Washington Wizards during the second quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Unique stat suggests LaMelo Ball may want to get even wilder with shot selection

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Aug 5, 2025 11:31 AM ET

LaMelo Ball is the NBA's king of weird shots.

He takes and sometimes makes shots that some other players wouldn't even dream of attempting on an NBA court. It's part of what makes the Charlotte Hornets star so exciting. It's also somehow what makes him good. Ball attempted 53 one-legged three-point shots this year, and he made an impressive amount of them given the level of difficulty.

Generally speaking, it's not necessarily a good thing for the player who shoots the most in the NBA and by far the most on the Hornets to be shooting so many unorthodox shots. A one-legged three typically means something has gone wrong, which is why the next-closest player on the list has seven such attempts.

However, Ball isn't struggling on that shot necessarily. He shot 40%, which is a really good mark from three, let alone from three with one leg up in the air. That's not good basketball shooting form, but it seems to work for Ball, who shot 40.5% from the field and 33.9% from three in 2024-25. The one-legged threes actually represented an uptick in efficiency, as insane as that may seem.

Of course, with Ball getting more shooting around him and with Brandon Miller healthy again, it stands to reason that Ball won't have to shoot as much, and he won't have to get as creative, but maybe that's not a good thing. Maybe, at least based on this stat with an admittedly tiny sample size (Ball took 528 threes last season), he needs to remain creative.

For whatever reason, Ball does seem to consistently make shots you generally wouldn't want anyone to take at a higher frequency than expected. No, he's not Steph Curry when he goes off-script or off-platform, but he can clearly take and make some rather stunning shots.

Those are usually done in lieu of someone significantly worse taking a shot or when the shot clock is winding down, but they may be something Ball wants to keep in his arsenal. That unique, unorthodox, silly-looking shot keeps defenses off-balance and can provide Ball with a better look than a straight-up jump shot might in those scenarios.

Of course, it's also possible that this was a fluke on a small sample size since the rest of the players listed combined to attempt 24 of these circus shots and made just nine of them. It will be something to watch out for in 2025-26, though.