Which Ball brother – Lonzo or LaMelo – is king of the court?
Who doesn't love a good, old-fashioned sibling rivalry?
While Lonzo Ball and his younger brother LaMelo might not have a personal rivalry, there will always be a debate over which sibling is the better of the two.
And that comes with the territory, considering both were selected in the top three of their respective drafts and both were championed by a boisterous father with unwavering belief.
When it comes to counting stats, LaMelo is the superior player on paper.
Having already won the 2020-21 Rookie of the Year award, the youngest Ball brother has taken his game to new heights this season, averaging 19.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game for Charlotte.
He ranks in the top 10 in all four of those statistical categories among NBA point guards.
Lonzo, on the other hand, is averaging 12.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game, but his impact is stretching beyond just stats.
Since being acquired by the Chicago Bulls in free agency this past offseason, Lonzo has had a transformative impact on his new team on both ends of the floor.
The Bulls have a 103.0 defensive rating, which currently ranks second in the NBA, down nine full points from their 112.0 rating a season ago.
The team is committing the sixth-fewest turnovers per game (13.4) in the NBA this season. In 2020-21, the Bulls committed 15.1 turnovers per game (fourth-most in NBA).
But where Lonzo might have taken the biggest leap is as a shooter. He is shooting 44% from 3-point range this season, a far cry from the 30.5% mark he shot from distance as a rookie.
Skip Bayless: Lonzo Ball, like LaMelo, has grown quickly and found his basketball heaven in Chicago I UNDISPUTED
During Tuesday's edition of "Undisputed," Skip Bayless pointed out how the new and improved jumper from Lonzo has changed his outlook as a starting point guard in the NBA.
"Do you remember when I said he's a liability of a free throw shooter? He wasn't even a 50% free throw shooter," Bayless said. "You can't be a starting point guard and shoot under 50%. Look what he's doing now. He's 83% from the free-throw line."
But Shannon Sharpe said that what he is seeing from Lonzo isn't coming as a shock, considering he always believed Lonzo to be the better of the Ball twosome.
He touched on how Lonzo's trade from the Los Angeles Lakers to the New Orleans Pelicans before the 2019-20 season allowed him to grow into the player he is now.
"He has a chance to be really, really good," Sharpe said. "And he is playing without having the pressure of being in L.A."
And it appears, just for good measure, that Lonzo took it upon himself to remind the Lakers what they lost, when he burned his former team on Monday night, putting up 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
He also connected on seven 3s.
This comes a week after LaMelo toasted the Lakers himself.
Good thing for fans –– and the Ball family –– that Lonzo is 24 and LaMelo is 20.
There's plenty of time left to settle the debate.
