LaMelo Ball’s season is officially over. So what now for the Charlotte Hornets’ star?
Dressed in a gray sweatsuit and talking trash, LaMelo Ball fires up a shot from halfcourt that swishes through the net, causing the Charlotte Hornets star to take a dig at rookie Amari Bailey.
Ball was still being his jovial self, not long after the Hornets announced Thursday that he was officially done for the season to continue rehabilitating his right ankle, putting an end to the rampant speculation regarding his status during these final two weeks.
Sidelined since Jan. 26 after experiencing lingering soreness, Ball’s season never fully got into gear. He saw action in only 22 games during his fourth year in the league — and months before his $200-plus million rookie max contract extension kicks in. And now the next time Hornets’ fans will see him in uniform won’t come until the fall, once again cutting his season short prematurely.
“Listen, he’s been very diligent about all of his rehab and work and his ankle just hasn’t responded,” coach Steve Clifford said after Thursday’s practice. “So, really it’s just as simple as that.”
In his last public comments, which came four days after what turned out to be his final game of the season, Ball told the Observer he was focused on getting healthy and made that his top priority.
“Facts,” Ball said Jan. 30. “That’s pretty much my main thing.”
Apparently, his body won’t cooperate to a satisfactory level.
“Yeah, it sucks,” said Miles Bridges, one of Ball’s closest friends on the team. “Melo, he loves basketball. He loves playing the game of basketball. If he has an injury that affects him that much, it definitely affects him. Because if he could come out here and play at 80% he would. So, it’s tough having him out. I miss playing with him for sure, but his health is what matters the most.”
Before getting injured in January, Ball looked the best he had all season, finally knocking off the rust associated with him sitting out the final two months of the 2022-23 season following ankle surgery. He was posting career bests highs in points (23.9), made field goals per game (8.3), 2-point percentage (.500), free throws made (4.1) and attempted (4.7) as well as steals (1.8).
When he went down, he led the NBA in made fourth-quarter 3-pointers, sinking 1.2 per game. He ranked third in the league with 2.4 fourth-quarter assists in the fourth quarter and his importance to the Hornets’ flow can’t be understated. Offensively, the Hornets improved by 4.8 points when he was on the court, and their free throw rate increased by 4.3% with him, which ranked in the 91st percentile at the time.
Things were going so well then that Clifford can still recite some of the statistics surrounding Ball’s major impact off the top of his head two months later.
“I want to say the last nine games he played, he was top-five in scoring, top-five in assists and I think top two or three in crunch time scoring and crunch time assists,” Clifford said. “I think it was easy to get excited about and it’s also something he can build on.
“Look, injuries are a part of this league and, again, all I know is he’s been incredibly diligent. So, it’s not anybody’s fault. It’s just the way it’s worked out.”
Injuries have been a common theme during Ball’s career since the Hornets selected him No. 3 overall in 2020. He has yet to log a full season, playing in more than 37 games during a season only once, which came in 2021-22.
Ball is a little over a year removed from ankle surgery, and he didn’t get cleared for contact following that procedure until October prior to the end of the Hornets’ preseason. He played in the Hornets’ initial 15 outings before a severely sprained right ankle shelved him for 20 games.
All the missed action cost Ball precious on-court minutes to gain a better synergy with fellow backcourt mate Brandon Miller, who’s time increased exponentially following the trades of Terry Rozier to Miami and Gordon Hayward to Oklahoma City. The Hornets have to think long-term here and the well-being of Ball’s ankles is of the utmost importance.
“Yeah, him, Brandon, they’re both franchise players,” Bridges said. “So, his health matters the most. As long as we get him back to 100% and have him at his best next season, that’s all that matters.”
The news about Ball comes on the heels of Seth Curry and Cody Martin being officially lost for the season nursing ankle injuries. And although there’s been no definitive word about Mark Williams, who’s battled lower back issues and hasn’t played since going down Dec. 8 against Toronto, he’s not going to appear in any of the Hornets’ final games, either. That means his second season ends after only 19 games.
And Williams’ presence, just like Ball’s, is missed badly.
“Look, whenever you lose really big players, it changes things,” Clifford said. “But Mark’s been the same as Melo. Mark’s worked hard and he’s done everything he’s been asked to do, and just the injury hasn’t responded the way we hoped it would. So, all you can do is,. They keep doing their work and hope they can have a good summer.”
For sake of the Hornets’ future, it’s imperative that’s the case. Especially for Ball.
“If you are in here every day and you watch him, I believe he’s given himself every chance to (return),” Clifford said. “He goes twice a lot of days, he comes back. So, he’s done everything he can do. So, I don’t see that he could have done a better job.”
This story was originally published March 28, 2024 at 10:26 AM.
