"Average person doesn't know who LaMelo Ball is": Ex-NBA player takes a shot at All-Star Hornets guard

LaMelo Ball has gotten out to a strong start through the first 10 games of the 2024-25 NBA season for the Charlotte Hornets. The fifth-year guard has bounced back in a big way after suiting up in just 22 games last season before being sidelined due to a lingering ankle injury.

Ball is the driving force for the Hornets as the team's lone All-Star and the face of the organization. But one former NBA player believes a small market in Charlotte is holding the 2020-21 Rookie of the Year back.

On Monday's episode of "Run It Back," nine-year NBA forward Chandler Parsons offered his thoughts on what playing in a big market could do for Ball.

"Listen, you put him on the Clippers, you put him in a big market right now, I think we're talking about a whole different player, just based on his opportunity, the TV time this guy is going to get. The average person doesn't know who LaMelo Ball is because the Charlotte Hornets have been historically bad. You have to be on a good team."

Ball has been among the top 15 players in the league in jersey sales every year since entering the league, ranking 14th last season despite missing 60 games. So, he is clearly not an unknown player.

Lou Williams defends LaMelo Ball after Parsons' comments

One of Chandler Parsons' co-hosts on the show and another former NBA player, Lou Williams, however, differed from him. Williams defended LaMelo Ball following Parsons' comments.

"I think people know who LaMelo Ball is. Can the Charlotte Hornets collectively be a better team? Absolutely. But I think as a brand, people know who LaMelo Ball is, and I think he's top five or six in the Eastern Conference when it comes to point guards."

Lou Williams endorsed Ball as one of the top point guards in the NBA, along with discussing his status as one of the most popular players in the NBA.

Ball has the Hornets at 4-6 through 10 games this season, with the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. He has appeared in all 10 games, averaging 29.4 points, 6.2 assists and 4.9 rebounds, shooting a career-high 44.3% from the field.