Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball talks about his triple-double performance in win over the Washington Wizards. By Rod Boone| Charlotte Observer
Midway through the third quarter, the Charlotte Hornets’ head of security rose from his seat one row behind the bench, taking matters into his own hands.
Nearly every player on the team not in the game — even those in street garb — was standing up, fully engaged with what was transpiring on the court at Capital One Arena. They created a human wall in a sense, blocking the view for the patrons who paid top dollar for their seats in the same vicinity.
That’s a no-no in NBA etiquette these days and each player was told to take a load off.
But they struggled to remain in their cushioned chairs, too excited with the spirited comeback going on despite being undermanned with Brandon Miller sitting out. Apparently, they were energized by a fiery speech from the team’s highest paid player and heeded LaMelo Ball’s words in powering past Washington 139-113 on Sunday night.
LaMelo Ball #1 of the Charlotte Hornets drives to the basket against Tre Johnson #12 of the Washington Wizards during the first half at Capital One Arena on October 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. Scott Taetsch Getty Images
“(Shoot), it was really Melo,” Miles Bridges said of the Hornets’ second half turnaround that transformed an 11-point halftime deficit into a double-digit victory. Melo came in, gave me an ear full. I didn’t come out ready to play, so I’m not used to Melo doing that.
“He told me, ‘Lock in. Lock in, play like I usually play. I’m playing like a (bum) right now. He turned it up and everybody else turned up. We go as the head of the snake go. So, if he’s leading like that, with that type of passion, people are going to listen to him.”
Particularly when he’s flourishing like he did against the Wizards.
Ball registered his 11th career triple-double and first since Nov. 5, 2023, posting 35 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists. He was extremely efficient, totaling a plus-minus of plus-32, and essentially put the Hornets (2-1) on the back of his 6-foot-7 frame in the first half before igniting the rest of the team.
“What stands out is that after the game he said he was most excited about the fact that he won, not even the triple-double,” Charlotte coach Charles Lee said. “So, that part stands out to me first and foremost. And then when a guy wants to play that unselfishly, as well as you’re scoring the ball, a guy that wants to step in there, and I think he has some big offensive rebounds for us, he also has some big defensive rebounds, it just shows that you’re locked in to all facets of the game and you’re more than just a scorer.
“You are trying to impact the game in a lot of different ways. And so I love where his mentality is right now.”
That mindset is a result of the mental exhaustion and anguish of their postseason drought, which is speeding toward a full decade and represents the longest current stretch in the NBA. Charlotte’s goal, among many this season, is to change the culture and get the franchise moving in another direction.
Whether it’s those who’ve been around for a while or newcomers like Collin Sexton.
“Everybody’s tired of losing,” Bridges said. “Collin and me talk about how we’re second and third players with the most games without making it to the playoffs. We talk about that every day, so we’re just tired of losing and we want to turn a new leaf here.”
Miles Bridges (0) of the Charlotte Hornets shoots the ball against the Washington Wizards during the first half at Capital One Arena on October 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. Scott Taetsch Getty Images
In other words, reverse the franchise’s losing trend.
“We always talk about the last year and this year and that year,” Ball said. “I feel like it’s just a whole new year, a whole new team. So, we don’t even need to bring all them old habits or whatever.
“So, pretty much just came in here, just try to set the tone.”
Kon Knueppel was impressed with Ball’s performance.
“Yeah, he’s amazing,” Knueppel said. “He did a really good job. Me and him had some of that two-man action, but he just did a hell of a job playing the pick-and-roll with the big guys, and we’re picking him up on using those floaters.
“But then just his rebounding. When he can get the rebound, it starts to break quicker because he has the ball and we can just go. So, yeah, he was phenomenal.”
To finish it off, Ball signed some autographs for some fans prior to leaving the court following his postgame television interview with Fan Duel Southeast’s Shannon Spake. It’s not something he often did in his previous seasons and it shows another sign of the 24-year-old maturation process.
“Just leading for real,” Ball said. “Trying to get as many wins as we could Obviously, everybody knows what we are doing in here. Yeah, like I said it’s just me being a leader.”
Here are a couple of other key takeaways from the Hornets’ victory:
What’s going on with Brandon Miller
Miller was on the bench in a camouflage outfit, but it’s not like he wanted to hide. If anything, he’s probably just frustrated he can hunt defenders and pepper them with his offensive repertoire.
Miller sat out with left shoulder soreness, which cropped up early in the second quarter of Saturday night’s loss in Philadelphia. And it’s still unclear how long he’ll be sidelined.
There’s still no complete clarity surrounding the status of the Hornets’ third-year rising star.
“Obviously, got in super late last night to Washington and then this morning I think he was feeling a little bit better,” Lee said. “And so hopefully in the next couple days we can get some more information. But I think when he got treatment and stuff this morning, he was feeling a little bit better.
“But we should have more information for you soon.”
Musical chairs
Three games, three different starting lineups.
Get ahead and get used to the shuffling.
Lee went with an opening quintet featuring Ball, Sexton, Knueppel, Bridges and Ryan Kalkbrenner. Even when the Hornets are at full strength health-wise, which won’t be totally the case until Josh Green and Grant Williams return from their respective rehabilitations, the expectation is for Lee to determine who’s going to start based on a big emphasis of matchups.
Sounds like there’s going to be a different formula when figuring out who’s on the floor in crunch time, similar to how he went with Tre Mann over Sexton in the closing minutes against the 76ers despite Sexton receiving the starting nod.
“I would say, No. 1, I’m super grateful and thankful for our team’s open-mindedness, their commitment to each other and just wanting to win,” Lee said.” I think that I absolutely love that the group allows our coaching staff to say, ‘Hey, these might be the two guys that are going to start tonight. For this reason, in the second half we went with Moussa over Ryan Kaulkbrenner (against Philadelphia.)
“And I think that there’s just this healthy environment of everybody understanding, if this makes sense for what we need to do or accomplish today, they’re all on board and they’re fully committed. And there’s not a side eye or a sucking of the teeth or any of that. So, grateful and love the group for being able to allow us coaches to coach.”
That’s when Lee broke down his philosophy.
“I’d say at the end of the game, a lot of it comes down to how I think guys are playing, what combinations I think are working well together,” Lee said. “And even (Saturday) night was a good opportunity for me to learn a little bit. Would I have done some things differently? Maybe.
Collin Sexton (8) of the Charlotte Hornets drives to the basket against the Washington Wizards during the first half at Capital One Arena on October 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. Scott Taetsch Getty Images
“But I really do think that we gave ourselves a really good chance with the lineups that we had out there. I trust everybody on this roster and we’ll continue to kind of work through what I think makes sense as the season keeps going on and evolves.”
He reiterated the Hornets’ overall approach has him encouraged.
“Yeah, I think it’s extremely special because they all support one another,” he said. “Like I said, there’s no toxicity. And if this person starts or if this person finishes the game, we’re all on board to just try to win. And I think that I’ve been in other environments before this where you kind of had your veteran starting five and you just knew what the rotation was going to be.
“And I think with a younger team right now, we need to be a little bit more flexible. ...You obviously have to know what your identity is, but we’ve got to be flexible. And you watch some of the best teams in the league, they do it at a championship level. And so we should be just as open-minded.”