Charlotte Hornets give medical update on LaMelo Ball. How long will he be out?
A sigh of relief emanated from Spectrum Center on Wednesday night.
Following a rough 104-83 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the Charlotte Hornets announced LaMelo Ball will be re-evaluated in a week after spraining his ankle in Monday’s defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers. The star guard had an MRI that confirmed the severity and original diagnosis.
“As I processed it, I was like, ‘That’s great to hear,’” coach Charles Lee said. “You never know what could come from some of the evaluation — it could be a longer timetable. I love to hear a week. I think that’s a good thing to hear. You get the Brandon (Miller) news and it’s out indefinitely, and we don’t want that.
“So, I’m glad to hear that. It’s the best news of a bad case.”
Ball injured himself in the second quarter on what looked like an innocent play. He got tangled up with Los Angeles’ Jarred Vanderbilt after sinking a 3-pointer, stepping on Vanderbilt’s right foot and twisting his ankle.
The injury halted a good stretch by Ball and puts the onus on everyone to fill the void, given his imprint on things, especially offensively. He entered the week averaging 28.9 points, ranking as the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer, and is one of only seven players posting 25 points, five rebounds and five steals this season.
Ball has been mostly healthy in his fifth season — the first year of a max rookie contract extension that could be worth over $200 million. Although he’s played in more games this season than he did in the previous two campaigns, the 23-year-old has dealt with a few ailments over the past few months.
But none of the previous time he’s missed was because of anything regarding his surgically repaired ankles, and he began the season wearing custom-fit braces. It’s unclear whether he had them on Monday.
Ball played through a bruised tailbone in late October. He also got banged up on the final sequence of the Hornets’ Nov. 27 loss to Miami, experiencing left calf soreness, and it cost him seven straight games. He came back for two games before missing four of the next six after experiencing more soreness.
He’s otherwise been available for the Hornets, reversing a trend that had had some wondering whether he’d ever be able to string together enough appearances to return to the All-Star form displayed in 2021-22.
During his previous four seasons, he totaled more than 36 games just once and played in a career-low 22 games in 2024-25 because of lingering soreness, sitting out for the final three months.
With Ball unavailable for at least the next week, Tre Mann (back disc irritation) still sidelined since Nov. 21 with no timetable for a return, and Miller (wrist surgery) and Grant Williams (torn ACL) each out for the season, the Hornets’ front office will likely turn its attention to roster reconstruction over the coming weeks.
The Hornets were already going to be sellers leading into the Feb. 6 trade deadline before Ball went down. That’s evidenced by Charlotte acquiring Josh Okogie and three second-round picks from Phoenix for Nick Richards and a second-round selection, and president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson indicating it’s open to listening to offers.
Now, chatter should only pick up as the team figures out its long-term direction heading into what will be — as usual — an important offseason for a franchise that’s closing in on being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for a ninth straight season.
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 9:30 PM.
