LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller are a top duo in Charlotte Hornets history. Fill in the blank yourself, but the young duo has to be near the top of any list that ranks the Hornets of all time.
The young stars represent the future of basketball in the Queen City. Ball just turned 23 and Miller will still be 21 when the season begins in October. These two haven’t yet scratched the surface of their limitless potential, even if they’re already pretty damn good.
Their current talent makes me wonder where they rank among the Eastern Conference’s star duos. Let’s take a look.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown
Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges
Joel Embiid and Paul George
Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo
There is no world where Ball and Miller should be considered on par with any of the duos listed above. Each of them includes either a former MVP, a regular All-Star, an All-NBA talent or an Olympic gold medalist who is arguably a better player in 2024 than Ball and Miller.
In 2027? Maybe Ball/Miller will have to be discussed against some of these star duos, but not in 2024. Going through this list of stars really opened my eyes to the depth of the field at the top of the Eastern Conference. Boston, the defending champions, are the heavy favorites, but four of the five teams behind them could seriously challenge for their Eastern Conference crown. The playoffs should be the goal for the 2024-25 Hornets, but they will fight to get there.
Coby White and Josh Giddey
Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic
Coby White and Josh Giddey
The one who plays for Brooklyn
Kyle Kuzma/Bilal Coulibaly
Cade Cuningham/Jalen Duren
On the other side of the coin, I believe all of the teams listed above would trade their pair for Charlotte’s faster than Eric Collins might say hum-diddily-dee. You can make an argument for Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic based solely on Young’s immense talent, but the combination of Ball and Miller eliminates that duo.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner
Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakim
This is the level of duo that Miller and Ball are in.rank seventh through ninth in the Eastern Conference. Frankly, they’re probably the worst of the group I have them with. The Pacers duo reached the conference finals in 2024 while the Magic duo nearly reached the second round of the NBA playoffs, losing a tight first-round series to Cleveland.
Again, Ball and Miller are likely to skyrocket up this list in the coming years. I’m as optimistic as anyone about their potential, but they’re not at the top of the ladder yet. And that’s okay! They project to be leading men for years to come like Charlotte has never seen. Their games complement each other perfectly, and a future where the Hornets have two alphas in Miller and Ball is one that will likely lead to success that would bring even more buzz back to the Queen City.
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