LaMelo Ball

Twelve inches of snow blanketed Charlotte on the morning of January 31, 2026, pushing tipoff three hours earlier than scheduled. The Hornets, who had stumbled to 11-22 heading into the new year, didn't blink. This was their sixth straight win, the longest streak the franchise had seen in nearly a decade, with LaMelo Ball quietly cementing himself as the engine behind one of the NBA's most stunning mid-season turnarounds. Early in the first quarter, Brandon Miller set the screen and Ball caught it on the move, rising nearly flat-footed off one foot to drain a 27-foot three with the ease of a player who'd been doing it all month. He kept orchestrating. In the second, he found Moussa Diabate in transition for a fast break bucket; in the third, a tipped pass came back to him and he delivered a one-touch lob that Miles Bridges finished above the rim. Ball finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in Charlotte's 111-106 victory over San Antonio.