“The LaMelo Ball – Miles Bridges connection is alive again”: Hornets high-flier and Rookie of the Year candidate combine for transition slam dunk

Miles Bridges is already the game’s most exciting dunker. But his plays become all that sweeter when he’s being facilitated by LaMelo Ball.

The Charlotte Hornets looked primed to make it back to the NBA playoffs after a 5-year hiatus in March 2021. LaMelo Ball was practically a rock for Rookie of the Year honors, and with good reason.

LaMelo is averaging the second-highest points per game among all rookies this year at 15.9 ppg. He was also leading all rookies in 4 out of 5 cumulative game stats before he went down with a fractured hand in late March.

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The Charlotte Hornets lost both of their best wing players in Melo and Gordon Hayward in the space of weeks. They had a real job hanging onto a playoff berth that seemed to be theirs for the taking.

In fact at the time of LaMelo’s injury, the Hornets were solidly placed at 4th in the East. They’re currently 8th in the standings, but are likely to stay in a play-in berth.

LaMelo Ball connects with Miles Bridges for the fast break alley-oop

Ball and Miles Bridges had already served us with some vintage dunks this season. They are back at it as soon as humanly possible, with Melo actively looking for Bridges. The forward has done his best to leak out in transition ahead of the defensive lineup in the Hornets’ game against Detroit.

This mentality of running hard and providing options to the outlet passer has stood him in good stead today. Bridges has been an enthusiastic recipient of some insightful LaMelo Ball passes today.

One of those plays came in semi-transition during the 2nd quarter. By this point, LaMelo and Bridges had already connected on at least 2 occasions during transition. This particular play resulted in an emphatic dunk, as you can see.

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