Charlotte Hornets assistant coach Lamar Skeeter smiles as he works out guard LaMelo Ball prior to the team’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC on Thursday, January 8, 2026. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Gazing out the window on approach to Salt Lake City’s sprawling semi-new international transportation edifice, Lamar Skeeter ponders his trail mirroring the rugged terrain surrounding the area below.
“It’s always time to reflect from the moment the plane lands on the ground,” the Charlotte Hornets assistant coach said, “and you see the mountains, and you see the airport, and you see everything, the drive to the hotel and the city. I spent 10 years and Utah is very much a part of me and my career. I really enjoyed my time. It’s still a little weird being on the other bench, but it’s something I’m adjusting to.
“It’s definitely a surreal moment for me every time I (come) back.”
Plucked off the staff of then-Jazz head coach Quin Snyder, who is currently in Atlanta with the Hawks, Skeeter is someone Hornets fans see roaming in front of Charlotte’s bench quite often. He’s the lead assistant of head coach Charles Lee, a role that comes with tons of responsibility.
Skeeter, 36, serves as the Hornets’ player development coach and is also the primary person who works extremely closely with star guard LaMelo Ball. His fingerprints are all over the roster, which got a little healthier Saturday night with Grant Williams making his season debut in their 150-95 win over Utah at Delta Center, finally returning after missing more than a full calendar year rehabilitating a torn right ACL.
“I lean on him a ton when it comes to strategy, when it comes to rotations, when it comes to lineups,” Lee said, highlighting a few duties of his top assistant coach. “I think he’s just got such a phenomenal feel.”
One that extends from the bench straight into the Hornets’ locker room. Skeeter is well-liked among the players and has become an integral figure during his year-plus in Charlotte.
“He’s a great guy,” Miles Bridges said. “Great guy. He’s very down to earth. When everybody’s emotions are high, he’s one of the guys where he’s cool, calm and collected. He’s one of those coaches that you want to just learn from. More so of a defensive coach, but he stays on us, he stays on Melo. That’s Melo’s coach. So, he’s great.”
Bond led Skeeter to Charlotte
Bridges’ description falls directly in line with the reputation Skeeter built throughout his days with the Jazz, which paved the way for him to join forces with Lee in Charlotte.
After beginning as an unpaid intern with the Cleveland Cavaliers and landing a position as an assistant with Cleveland’s G League affiliate in Canton, Ohio, Skeeter’s career path also took him through Atlanta just like Lee. And although they weren’t there at the same time — Skeeter was a video coordinator for the Hawks and left to join Snyder in Utah in 2014 just prior to Lee’s arrival — that’s where the admiration began.
Charlotte Hornets assistant coach Lamar Skeeter prior to the team’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
“There were a lot of people there that just spoke so highly of him,” Lee said. “‘Lamar was a beast, Lamar worked with all the young players. He helps with player development, great personality.’ So I heard all this, ‘Lamar, Lamar, Lamar.’”
Mutual acquaintances like Snyder and Darvin Ham had a hand in both the introduction and recommendation of Skeeter. Long before essentially designating him as his deputy on the Hornets’ bench, Lee sat down with Skeeter for more than one meal and always made sure to catch up with him when their respective teams squared off while they both were on the assistant coach trail.
Skeeter’s time with Snyder and direct work with star Donovan Mitchell helped seal Lee’s decision: If he was lucky enough to land a job that placed him at the end of the bench, he planned on bringing Skeeter along for the ride.
“When I thought about what I needed when I came here to Charlotte as a first-year head coach,” Lee said, “you need, No. 1, great human beings that are going to elevate the culture, elevate the environment with just who they are as people. No. 2, I need somebody that I can trust, that I think can learn what we want to do offensively, defensively, the importance of player development, and be able to carry out those messages. A hard worker.
“And I know that that is what all he’s done, and he knows how to win. He’s seen it at the highest of levels. And then also a guy that is a good teacher, because I knew we were coming into a situation with younger players, they need to be taught a little bit like technique while also being taught just like professional habits. And so I knew that he could check a ton of boxes and help elevate our culture.”
Having a Ball with LaMelo
In doing so, Skeeter also puts a huge check in arguably the biggest box of them all.
As the primary person who’s in Ball’s presence and ear more than anybody, his responsibility to aid in molding the 24-year-old is chief among the tasks on his daily to-do lists.
Charlotte Hornets assistant coach Lamar Skeeter, right, jokes with guard LaMelo Ball prior to the team’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
That sits high atop the reasons Lee tabbed Skeeter as his right-hand man.
“One of your best players, one of your biggest leaders on the team, I really think it’s important to have somebody with him that is going to echo our messaging,” Lee said. “That’s going to set the tone, set the foundation for just who we want to be. And he’s able to carry out those messages with Melo.
“And I think we’ve seen the growth that Melo’s been able to make as a player and as a leader, even as a defender, being more engaged and involved. So, I think that he’s really helped from a player development standpoint.”
That’s thanks to an intentional and methodical approach.
Preparing practice and game plans, as well as scouting opponents, intertwines with being joined at the hip with Ball as much as possible. They focus on readiness and go over any key points to emphasize.
The duo maintains an ongoing dialogue in an attempt to build trust and have open communication lines. It’s all about normalizing winning habits tailored to Ball’s individual needs, and there are a number of ways they go about doing that.
Whether it’s through nutrition, film study or on-court drills, Skeeter ensures Ball is continuing to hone the talent that made him an All-Star in his second season in the NBA.
“Every player is different,” said Skeeter, who suited up for Welsh University in Ohio. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be around for a while and had a variety of different types of players. So, you kind of have to build a relationship first and foremost and figure out what that player’s goals are.
“And so for Melo, this is his sixth year in the NBA, but he’s still a young player. So for me and him, it’s, ‘How can we build winning habits? How can we build habits that we need right now, but that you can carry on through the rest of your career?’”
That’s where Skeeter leans on his knowledge, passing it along to Ball.
“Starting with getting up early and having breakfast and making sure we’re energized for the practice or shootaround or game, whatever’s going on that day,” Skeeter said. “And then from there, you focus on a combination of professional habits and basketball work, and studying the game and being students of the game. It’s been great because we’ve kind of gone through that process together.”
Which includes breaking bread in each other’s company. It’s a frequent occurrence, and that’s what they did Wednesday, leading into the Hornets’ back-to-back outings against Toronto and Indiana.
“We watched some late-game situations from the Warriors and Clippers game from the other night, so we can kind of watch segments of basketball and just talk about the game,” Skeeter said. “It’s not necessarily about his individual performance or what’s going on with our team.
“It’s like, ‘Hey, we saw this situation the other night. What do you think? This team has two timeouts left. What do you think they’re running? How would you guard it?’ And we just study the game together.”
Ball enjoys every second of their interactions, too.
“I love working with Lamar,” Ball said. He’s a standup guy. That’s my guy, 10 toes down. He’ll look out for you on the court, off the court. Just a great dude for real. Great guy. Love him.”
‘The first time it happens, it changes everything’
Skeeter understands it’s just all a part of the description of his gig, and he also has no issue delegating some of the responsibility to his fellow staffers.
He knows the importance of doing his job well, and that’s why he gets the most satisfaction from witnessing the transitional leap from the individuals on whom he is imparting his wisdom.
Charlotte Hornets assistant coach Lamar Skeeter, left, works out guard LaMelo Ball, right, prior to the team’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
“It’s a lot of film, it’s a lot of practice reps, it’s a lot of meetings,” Skeeter said. “The job is a lot. But when you see all that work starting to pay off, that’s the most enjoyable thing for me. You spend the time behind the scenes and you do all the work so when you get out into the game, it becomes second nature.
“In some of those situations, especially the end of the game, it’s really cool to see when it happens in our game. And then from a player development standpoint in general, you could spend a month working on one specific thing, and it may not happen. And you get to a point where it’s like, ‘Why are we working on this? It’s not happening.’ But the first time it happens, it changes everything.”
Of course, there’s another way Skeeter’s position as Lee’s lead assistant can assist in cashing in life dividends: setting him up to be a head coach himself one day. And Lee is rather confident that opportunity is coming for Skeeter.
Even if it’s not something he’s really worried about at the moment.
“I think the best assistant coaches are the ones that are focused on, if I can help the players here get better, if I can help the team get better, then that allows me to hopefully advance my career,” Lee said. “That was always my focus, and I know that’s Lamar’s focus, too. So, I think he’s extremely ready. He’s seen a team now that’s in a little bit of a rebuild, he’s been a part of the Utah Jazz team, and he’s been around a really smart offensive mind and Quin Snyder and a team that won a lot of games.
“He’s been to the playoffs. He’s seen the whole spectrum, the whole gamut of what this NBA game’s about. And I think that he’d be a phenomenal head coach.”
Sliding over one chair would surely be a pinch-me moment for Skeeter.
“Being a head coach, that’s the goal, that’s the dream,” Skeeter said. “Obviously, right now I’m in no rush. I’m just enjoying the journey, enjoying the process, and focusing on what I can do today to help the team and help Charles. If that day comes for me, great. If not, I’ll keep chugging along and see what happens.”