LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges deserve to be All-Stars for the Charlotte Hornets

By Chase Whitney

December 30, 2021

Photo: Nell Redmond / AP

It’s that time of year again. On Christmas Day, the NBA opened All-Star voting to fans for the 2021-22 All-Star weekend in Cleveland. With the game slated to be played on February 20, voting will conclude at midnight on January 22, giving Charlotte fans just under a month to cast multiple ballots with their favorite Hornets players’ names on it.

How to vote

There are two ways to vote for the All-Star game: the traditional method of heading online to NBA.com/vote or the NBA App to cast a ballot, or the quicker method of simply tweeting out a player’s name in a hashtag (for example, #LaMeloBall) followed by the hashtag #NBAllStar to submit one vote. The full online ballots can be cast once per day while up to 10 votes per day (each tweet can only include a vote for one player) are allowed via Twitter. 

Fan voting updates will be shared weekly from January 6-20, with the announcement of starting lineups coming on January 27 and coaches/reserves on February 3.

One of the benefits of having a competitive team and well-run organization is the sheer possibility of multiple players making the All-Star game. Since the franchise returned to Charlotte in 2004, there have been four total All-Star selections; Gerald Wallace in 2010 and Kemba Walker from 2017-2019. Not abundant to say the least, but in the years to come, the Hornets have a chance to send multiple players. 



LaMelo Ball 

First and foremost, it starts with LaMelo Ball. The second-year point guard leads his team in points (19.7), assists (8, eighth in the NBA), rebounds (7.6, sixth among NBA guards) and steals (1.9) per game while shooting 39 percent on 7.1 three-point attempts per game. Melo is also fifth in the league in touches per game (86.2). He’s been handed the keys to Charlotte’s offense and has already exceeded lofty expectations, growing from an inefficient lead guard with a flair for the dramatic to a legitimate offensive engine for a successful NBA team in just over a year’s time. His competition at the guard spots include Darius Garland, James Harden, Kyle Lowry, Zach LaVine and Trae Young, while Bradley Beal and Fred VanVleet could also stake claim as one of the East’s top-four guards.

Miles Bridges 

The second most likely All-Star candidate in the Queen City is Miles Bridges. The massive developmental leap he took at the end of last year has carried over into this season, as he’s averaging career-highs in scoring (19.7), rebounds (7.2) and assists (3.7) per game. A hot start to the season saw him score 30 or more points five times in the first month, and he’s added another since then. Bridges’ three-point percentage has dipped to 31.4, albeit on career-high volume (6.1 three-point attempts per game) while playing as a top option within the team’s offense for the first time in his career. His on/off point differential of +5.7 ranks in the 76th percentile league-wide and second on the team to Jalen McDaniels (+12.2, 91st percentile), per Cleaning The Glass.

Gordon Hayward

Gordon Hayward has struggled through the last handful of games, but he’s still been an undeniable top-three Hornets player this season. Averaging 17.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 39.4 percent on 4.6 long-range attempts per game, he’s demonstrated comfortability as the team’s go-to scorer, secondary/tertiary option, and even as a part-time point guard during the Covid spell. Hayward’s stats don’t necessarily read like an All-Star, but there’s still time for him to go on a run. 

Terry Rozier 

The fourth and final All-Star candidate on the Hornets: Terry Rozier. In the opposite manner of Bridges, Rozier came out of the gates slowly, shooting poorly and playing unenergetic defense. However, over the last four games, he’s putting up 24.8 points per game on a blistering 48.5 percent from downtown– a sure sign that Scary Terry has his groove back. Rozier’s 17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game stats will need to rise for him to garner league-wide All-Star consideration, but it seems he may be in the midst of a hot streak. 

You can vote for LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Terry Rozier, and Gordon Hayward on NBA.com or the NBA app. You can also tweet a the player’s name in a hashtag (ex: #LaMeloBall) followed by the hashtag #NBAllStar. Voters can submit a maximum of 10 votes per Twitter handle each day. Each Tweet must only include a vote for one player and retweets will count as valid votes. 

Check out the remaining 2021-22 Charlotte Hornets schedule.




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