The Charlotte Hornets drew the opening slot in Kevin O'Connor's "Entertainment Rankings" on Thursday's live edition of The Kevin O'Connor Show , ahead of the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Indiana Pacers.
O'Connor and Tom Haberstroh discussed whether Coby White can replace LaMelo Ball at point guard, with Haberstroh mentioning the NBA's single-season three-point record.
The 2024-25 Boston Celtics set the record with 1,457 made threes on 3,955 attempts, while Charlotte led last season with 1,343 makes on 3,549 attempts (37.8%). The difference is 114.
O'Connor used a 309-minute sample that mentioned Charlotte scored 126.2 points per 100 possessions with White on and Ball off last season, 125.6 with Ball on and White off, and 110.9 with neither.
"The number one question: is LaMelo Ball replaceable? Can White replace LaMelo Ball?" O'Connor said in a clip Yahoo Sports cut from the segment . "'Cause if you look at the numbers last year, LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, that offense was unbelievable with those three on the floor. Take LaMelo out, they weren't so great."
White played 45 regular-season minutes alongside Miller and Knueppel, roughly 38 of them with Ball on the bench, according to NBA.com . Charlotte's starting five outscored opponents by 26.4 points per 100 possessions across 509 minutes, the best mark for any lineup with at least 250 minutes in the 19 seasons of available lineup data.
Over roughly 200 minutes together last season, Miller scored 29 points per 75 possessions with White on the floor, Haberstroh said, and White scored 27 per 75 alongside Miller.
"Yeah, it's not gonna be the same thing," Haberstroh said. "He doesn't have the same sort of innovation. The skill set is not the same as LaMelo Ball, but in some ways it's a few fewer turnovers and a lot more steadiness at the point guard position. But the dude can score, man."
"And I think this Charlotte Hornets team, even though they lost LaMelo Ball, who was at times the most high-volume scorer, shooter in the NBA from downtown, still, I think this team, dude, I think they have a chance to break the three-point record next year," Haberstroh continued. "You got Coby White, who's a 95, 96 percentile volume three-point shooter. Good three-point shooter off the dribble. Kon Knueppel, we already know, the fact that he led the league in threes as a rookie is insane. Brandon Miller, also high-volume three-point shooter."
"They bring in Naz Reid, who's one of the most high-volume three-point shooters, bigs in the NBA, if not NBA history," Haberstroh added. "He's a guy that loves to fire up from downtown and can attack a closeout and do a lot more than just that. Then you add Grayson Allen on top of that, who's one of the most high-volume wing three-point shooters, and Royce O'Neale in the same bucket. They're gonna fire up a lot of threes, and Coby White is gonna be able to thrive in this system."
Knueppel made 273 threes in 81 games and led the NBA, the first rookie to finish a season atop that leaderboard. Ball made 272 and finished second. The last teammates to each clear 270 in a season were Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Knueppel averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists and was named to the All-Rookie First Team.
Across 65 games, Miller averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, with 8.2 threes at 38.3%. Ball's last season in Charlotte included 72 games at 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists, shooting 36.8% on 10.3 attempts from deep.
The Chicago Bulls traded White to Charlotte at the February deadline. In 21 games off the bench, he made 2.0 threes on 5.2 attempts with a 39.1% shooting rate. He signed a fully guaranteed three-year, $74 million contract in June and is now a starter.
In O'Connor's numbers, turnover rate fell with either White or Ball on the floor and rose with both of them off it.
"Very small sample size with White, but I do think if there's any reason for optimism with what Charlotte could be following up on their spectacular second half of the year, I think it is largely about how the team was strengthened and deepened with Naz Reid and drafting Steinbach, a floor-spacing five who can pass and all that, having more depth, Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale," O'Connor explained. "It's all of that, the big picture of the roster."
Charlotte acquired Reid , a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps, and three second-round picks from the Minnesota Timberwolves for Ball and Josh Green on June 25. Reid averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists on 45.6% shooting in his final season in Minnesota.
Allen and O'Neale were traded from the Phoenix Suns to Charlotte in exchange for Miles Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2033 first-round pick. Allen posted averages of 16.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists over 51 games, with a three-point shooting percentage of 34.9%. O'Neale made 212 threes in 78 games, third in Suns history, with a 40.8% shooting. Bridges made 1.9 threes on 5.8 attempts at 33.3% over 77 games.
Hannes Steinbach, taken 14th overall out of Washington in June, made 18-of-53 threes as a freshman. Four picks later Charlotte took Christian Anderson Jr. out of Texas Tech. Dorian Finney-Smith came over from the Houston Rockets. This month the Hornets added Dennis Schröder from Cleveland.
The Hornets went 44-38 and finished ninth in the Eastern Conference, beating the Miami Heat in the 9-10 play-in game and losing to the Orlando Magic in the 8-9 game. Charlotte opens the 2026-27 season on the road against the Brooklyn Nets. The home opener is against the Atlanta Hawks.
