The Atlanta Hawks spent the better part of eight seasons going as far as Trae Young enabled them to. The All-Star point guard was an otherworldly talent for Atlanta, taking over games as a scorer and playmaker, and looking like a superstar when he was at his best.
Young also dealt with turnover and inefficiency issues that ultimately resulted in the Hawks outgrowing his style of play, however, which thus cut his tenure short.
If the 2026 Play-In Tournament proved anything, it's that the Charlotte Hornets have found themselves in a similar position. Franchise player LaMelo Ball is similar to Young in the sense that he's capable of producing otherworldly numbers and stepping up with must-see clutch heroics.
Unfortunately, the ebbs and flows of Ball's game include streakiness as a shooter and a potential tendency to come up short in big games that can derail the team's momentum.
Therein lies the issue that the Hawks know all too well. When things are going according to plan, players like Ball and Young can be transformative talents. Their uncanny ability to dominate the box score and make crucial plays late in games can elevate their respective teams to special heights.
The harsh reality, however, is that their unpredictability poses a vital question: Can a well-rounded team realistically win at a consistently high level with a streaky go-to player?
Hornets have their own version of Hawks' Trae Young experience
Ball averaged 20.8 points and 7.1 assists per game in 2025-26, but he also shot just 40.7 percent from the field. It was the second time in as many seasons that he shot worse than 41.0 percent from the floor. He also buried just 46.4 percent of his two-point field goals.
The former Rookie of the Year is still remarkably explosive and unavoidably talented, but the elephant in the room is identical to the one that cohabitated with the Hawks: The Hornets need Ball to adapt.
There was a time when the Hawks needed Young to take the chances that made him both erratic and electric. As the roster improved and other capable ball handlers and playmakers arrived in Atlanta, however, they ultimately needed the All-Star to take something of a step back.
It wasn't necessarily that the Hawks needed Young to be less involved, but instead that they needed him to be more efficient when on the ball due to the value that was found in spreading the wealth.
Charlotte is now in a similar position with Ball due to the emergence of players such as Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller as high-level scoring options. The Hornets are still a young team that has time to develop, but when one factors in that they've now been blown out in each of their past two Play-In Tournament appearances, change may be more necessary than it seems.
Perhaps Charlotte isn't quite there yet, but its situation with Ball is eerily similar to the path that the Hawks ultimately went down with Young.
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