LaMelo Ball & Brandon Miller continue to populate preseason top NBA player rankings

The future is extremely bright for the Charlotte Hornets, thanks to a special young duo in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.

The question is, how bright is that future? What is the ceiling for this franchise with these two sharing the floor together?

That's something that can only be answered with hypotheticals at this point in time. Due to LaMelo's lingering ankle injuries a year ago, the dynamic duo only got to play in 19 games together, and that all happened before Miller really got comfortable and adjusted to the style and play of the NBA.

Through a handful of preseason games, we've been able to get a sneak peek at what a more established Ball/Miller duo looks like, but it's still too early to tell how far these two can carry the Hornets in year one under new head coach Charles Lee.

Miller and Ball are the only two members of the Hornets' roster who have been mentioned in just about every preseason top 100 player ranking, and that's no different with the latest top 100 from The Ringer.

Danny Chau on LaMelo Ball (No. 53):

"Beyond the flair is a rare archetype: a tall point guard with proven 3-point range. Ball is one of only seven players in NBA history to boast a career average of at least 7.6 3-point attempts per game—and among those players, his shooting percentage from deep is behind only Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Buddy Hield. He has all the makings of a superstar—if only his body would allow it."

Justin Verrier on Brandon Miller (No. 85):

"The Paul George comps may be played out at this point, but it’s hard not to think of the nine-time All-Star when watching Miller. He’s a long, athletic wing who can spring for a highlight dunk but otherwise glides around the court with an easy, unhurried pace. His rookie season wasn’t without its typical welcome-to-the-NBA setbacks, but the things he does well translated pretty quickly, namely perimeter shooting. Only five other rookies in history took more 3s than Miller did last season, and only three made more of them. He should have even more looks this season playing with a (hopefully) healthy LaMelo Ball after scoring off of just 21 passes from the 2020-21 Rookie of the Year last season.

"Miller also looked comfortable operating a pick-and-roll, but creating for others and scoring in isolation will be big goals for his encore. Another year of strength training should help him hold up better against NBA physicality, as well as help him reach his own ceiling as a high-level wing defender. That sort of progress may not put him in contention for an All-Star spot alongside Wemby or Chet, but it could get him there in the not-too-distant future."

I'm of the belief that as long as these two stay healthy (it's a requirement that we state that with this organization), both will end up finishing the year inside the top 50 of this list and many others. It seems like a massive jump for Miller, but he's already shown big signs of improvement on both ends of the floor and it will help him to have stronger personnel around him.

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