🏀Front Office2026-27
 
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OVR

LaMelo Ball★

Minnesota Timberwolves · Plus starter
PG6'7"180 lbage 246 yrs expChino Hills, CA
4th best of 12 on MINworth +3.0 wins to the rotation
OFF88DEF77
Elite rebounder & playmaker
MIN
Minnesota Timberwolves
Western · Northwest · proj. 48-34 (▲+1.8)
→
All-StarRookie of the Year

The Hornets' flashy franchise point guard and one of the league's most creative passers — his 90th-percentile playmaking shows up in 7.1 assists a night with deep-range pull-ups (36.8% from three, 89.9% at the line). The downside is the cost: a 32% usage and 40.7% from the floor, almost nothing at the rim, and a turnover-prone, hands-off defender. Electric, but the efficiency and durability still have to catch up to the talent.

20.1
PPG
4.8
RPG
7.1
APG
1.2
SPG
0.2
BPG
GP 72MPG 28FG% 40.73P% 36.8FT% 89.9TS% 54.6USG% 32PER 19.7BPM +4.7VORP 3.4EPM +1.6
2025-26 regular season · bars are percentile at his position

NBA player ratings

0–99 · 2025-26 form
Rebounding94
Playmaking91
Shooting88
Perimeter defense82
Scoring80
Rim protection71
Inside finishing57

Skill ratings are 2025-26 per-game and advanced stats (Basketball-Reference) ranked 0–99 within position (guards vs guards, bigs vs bigs). Overall is anchored to EPM impact on a non-linear curve, nudged by these skills; Offense and Defense come from box plus-minus. A player who missed the latest season is shown from his most recent one.

Career

2020-21 to 2025-26 · 6 seasons
20.8
PPG
5.7
RPG
7.3
APG
303
GAMES
Points 6,304Win Shares 19.8Starts 280Best season 2025-26 · 20.1 ppg
Games played, last three seasons57%

Regular season, 2003-04 onward (Basketball-Reference). Averages are weighted by games played; honours count awards won, not finishes. “Current players” means the 802 who played in the last three seasons.

Trajectory

2023-24 → 2025-26 · age 22 → 24
▲Rising

LaMelo, at 24, is on a clear upward trajectory — 3.0 → 7.5 wins of value over the window.

Age curve▬ On curve
Developing about on schedule for his age.
2026-27 forecast▼ 5.6 wins (-1.9)
Starts from his player rating, which is more cautious than last season's total. Age should add a little at 25. Range 4.6–6.6 wins.
Production (BPM)+3.3 → +4.7+1.426-27 forecast +4.4
His per-possession game has clearly sharpened.
2023-24: +3.3 · 22 games2024-25: +3.2 · 47 games2025-26: +4.7 · 72 games2026-27: +4.4 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Value to team (wins)3.0 → 7.5+4.526-27 forecast 5.6
He's worth more wins to a team than he was.
2023-24: 3.0 · 22 games2024-25: 4.9 · 47 games2025-26: 7.5 · 72 games2026-27: 5.6 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Contract value2026-27: worth $22.0M vs $40.8M salary−$18.7M
He is paid more than his play is projected to be worth.
$40.8M salary2023-24: $6.9M · 22 games2024-25: $15.9M · 47 games2025-26: $42.4M · 72 games2026-27: $22.0M (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Current deal: $40,770,520 cap hit · through '29. On the contract row the flat dashed line is this salary, so the gap to the 2026-27 forecast is the surplus.

Seasons from Basketball-Reference (2023-24 → 2025-26). Production is box plus-minus, a per-possession measure. Value is VORP-based wins, so it also counts games played. Contract value is what each season’s play would fetch on the open market. The dotted 2026-27 point is a forecast: his established level, a year older, assuming a normal season.

Contract

2026-27
$40,770,520Guaranteed
19% of the club’s payroll · 2nd of 12 priced deals
Runs through3 seasons
Est. market value$22,034,000 /yr
Surplus−$18,736,520
ABOVE VALUEpaid above his on-court value

Market value is an estimate, not a reported figure: what his play is forecast to fetch on the open market in 2026-27 — his current rating, a year older. Cap thresholds are projected for 2026-27 until the league sets them.

2026-27 off-season

1 move

OFFICIAL means the league’s own records carry the move; AGREED means a trusted insider reported it and the league has not processed it yet. Terms and attribution come from the wire, which is the only source that carries them.

Plays like

same position

Nearest skill profiles across the seven rating axes — who he plays like, not who is as good. The rating beside each name answers that second question.