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Which Charlotte Hornet has a higher ceiling: LaMelo Ball or Brandon Miller?

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Matt Alquiza | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 8:34 PM ET

The Charlotte Hornets are lucky enough to have a pair of players that boast a superstar ceiling.

Both LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller have all of the makings of a franchise-defining talent. For Ball, his unmistakable flair and elite positional size meld with ball handling wizardry, limitless range, and 20/20 passing vision into a package that, on the right night, looks like one of the best human beings to ever grace a basketball court.

For Miller, it is a bit more subtle. He's a talented perimeter scorer that still has plenty of room to grow within the three-point arc. Miller was a deadeye mid-range shooter on the grassroots circuits and showed flashes of true three-level scoring proficiency before changing his shot diet in year one in Charles Lee's system.

While we've arguably seen the best LaMelo Ball has to offer, Miller, still only 22-years-old, still has plenty of wiggle room before he reaches his ultimate peak as a basketball player. With that in mind, which of the two has the higher ceiling?

Ball vs. Miller - who's ceiling is higher?

For me, the answer is clearly LaMelo Ball, and it comes down to one specific trait.

Shot creation.

The NBA's premier players are the straw that stirs the drink for their offense. Of the 15 players that made an All-NBA team in 2024-25, 12 of them (sans Evan Mobley, Jalen Williams, and Karl-Anthony Towns) are their team's lead creator. Ball is that for the Hornets, and as long as he shares a back court with Miller, he always will be.

That is no slight to the level of basketball player that Miller can be. However, I believe that even at his peak, he is best projected to be the Robin to LaMelo's Batman. Miller is a great play finisher with above-average athleticism and a burner from long-range that will ideally cover opposing stars and become the 'elite two-way' player he alluded to developing into at last season's media day.

However, Ball's indelible bag of tricks and high-level traits is the archetypal ideal of an NBA superstar in 2025. He just needs to stay healthy and up his efficiency (which I believe he will this season) to fully actualize his skills.

The beautiful thing about this argument is that it doesn't actually matter. Ball and Miller are a match made in modern basketball heaven: a pair of sweet-shooting teammates than a high-level offense can get funneled through while the other sits.

Jeff Peterson and Charles Lee are fortunate to have two high-level building blocks to construct a championship-level team around, no matter which one has the higher ceiling.