Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has his work cut out for him this offseason based on some new comments from his head coach.
Hornets coach Charles Lee on Monday openly challenged Ball to get stronger this offseason. Lee cited his previous work with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum in arguing that Ball must get stronger to deal with the physical defenses that opponents will use against him.
“He’s got to get stronger, and he’s got to be able to be ready for more physical defenses, because he is such an important player on our team,” Lee said of Ball. “That’s the strategy. That was the strategy I’ve seen with Antetokounmpo when I was in Milwaukee. It was the strategy versus Tatum in Boston. When you’re the best player in the league, you have to be ready for physicality, and in order to combat that, you gotta get stronger.”
Charles Lee says he wants to see LaMelo Ball get stronger.
— Will Eudy (@WillCEudy) April 14, 2025
He says this was the approach for both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum while he was coaching in Milwaukee and Boston. pic.twitter.com/YAy9OElgPj
Injuries have been a problem for Ball over the last three seasons. He played in only 47 games for the Hornets this year, primarily due to an ankle injury. The Hornets might be hoping that adding some additional strength reduces his injury risk as well.
When healthy, Ball has been a star. He averaged a career-high 25.2 points per game this season to go with 7.4 assists per game. The future of the Hornets largely depends on him being available and playing well, so the Hornets will really be hoping he takes this challenge seriously.
