Ranking the 10 best point guards of the 2023–24 NBA season

10. LaMelo Ball

The Charlotte Hornets are far from the NBA's elite, but they do have an elite talent in their frontman, LaMelo Ball. The former No. 3 overall pick has entered this season, picking up right where he left off from his 2022-23 All-Star campaign. Averaging 24.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 8.2 assists this season, LaMelo had continued to put up franchise-caliber stats for the Hornets.

LaMelo is enjoying a career year when looking at his field goal percentage (44.3 percent) and true shooting percentage (56.8 percent), and he is shooting 38.8 percent from deep, getting his two-point percentage up above 50 percent (currently 48.8 percent) would be a welcome development, but there's no certainty that will happen this season.

Defensively, LaMelo is still far from complete, but that's also par for the course compared to most of his teammates, at least those who also work the perimeter. He's tall, long, and athletic, but the strength, IQ, and interest just aren't there at this point.

LaMelo is currently out for what is expected to be multiple weeks with a sprained ankle. He is expected to be reevaluated sometime this week, the Hornets announced. The unfortunate myriad of injuries that Ball has suffered will continue to impact his effectiveness until he's finally able to overcome them.

While the Hornets may not yet be a threat to make the NBA Play-In Tournament, if LaMelo can remain healthy and continue playing at this level, they will eventually reach that mark, assuming the organization finally stops getting in their own way.