{"id":22779,"date":"2021-10-21T09:16:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T14:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=22779"},"modified":"2021-10-21T09:16:00","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T14:16:00","slug":"lamelo-ball-makes-history-in-hornets-comeback-win-over-pacers-draws-mvp-chants-and-2-things-lamelo-ball-hornets-showed-in-24-0-run-vs-pacers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=22779","title":{"rendered":"LaMelo Ball makes history in Hornets&#8217; comeback win over Pacers, draws MVP chants, AND 2 things LaMelo Ball, Hornets showed in 24-0 run vs. Pacers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>In his first game after his NBA Rookie of the Year campaign,\u00a0LaMelo Ball picked up right where he left off.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-22670\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/lamelo-puma-m.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>And the crowd serenaded him with chants for an even more prestigious honor: MVP.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>It&#8217;s only one game, but Ball helped the Charlotte Hornets erase a 23-point second-half deficit against the Indiana Pacers to secure a 123-122 victory in the season opener on Wednesday. A 24-0 run in the third quarter, in which Ball had 12 of his 31 points, sparked the Hornets&#8217; comeback victory.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>&#8220;Yeah,&#8221; Ball said after the game, &#8220;I definitely heard (the MVP chants). The city turnt. I love it. We&#8217;re gonna keep on trying to win.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_tw\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadTwitter\" data-v-id=\"1451000105545474049\" aria-label=\"Twitter Embed\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>Ball, the third overall pick in last year&#8217;s draft, made seven of nine 3-pointers. He finished with nine rebounds and seven assists.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>It was the third career 30-point effort for Ball, who became the third-youngest player with 30 points in a season opener. At 20 years and 59 days old, he also is now the youngest player in NBA history with at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in a season opener.<\/strong><\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_tw\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadTwitter\" data-v-id=\"1451002277586690049\" aria-label=\"Twitter Embed\"><\/aside>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_tw\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadTwitter\" data-v-id=\"1451000823798960128\" aria-label=\"Twitter Embed\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>A broken wrist cost Ball 21 games in 2020-21.<\/strong><\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_fo__bet-best gnt_em__lp\" aria-label=\"Scores and odds from Tipico\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-type=\"comment\">\n<h1 class=\"mvp-post-title left entry-title\"><strong>LaMelo Ball\u2019s latest comments won\u2019t make LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Paul George happy<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><strong>LaMelo Ball had one heck of a season opener for the <a title=\"Charlotte Hornets\" href=\"https:\/\/clutchpoints.com\/sports\/nba\/charlotte-hornets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charlotte Hornets<\/a> on Wednesday night, leading his team to a tough 123-122 win at home.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_1_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-1 adthrive-ad-cls\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-22669\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/lamelo-puma.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"268\" height=\"188\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-19\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>LaMelo finished with a team-high 31 points built on 7-of-9 3-pointers and added nine rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. The crafty playmaker has been anointed as the savior of the Hornets, who have languished at the bottom half of the NBA in recent years.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Judging by his latest remarks in a <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/2897844\/2021\/10\/20\/why-lamelo-ball-has-been-the-perfect-party-guest-in-charlotte-and-may-be-everything-hornets-fans-were-hoping-for\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">story by Joe Vardon of The Athletic<\/a>, it seems LaMelo is in it for the long run with the Hornets. He said he refuses to take the super team route like what <a title=\"LeBron James\" href=\"https:\/\/clutchpoints.com\/sports\/nba\/players\/lebron-james\/b1a9094f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LeBron James<\/a>, <a title=\"Kevin Durant\" href=\"https:\/\/clutchpoints.com\/sports\/nba\/players\/kevin-durant\/b0360985\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kevin Durant<\/a>, and Paul George, among others, have done.<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cI feel like I still kind of got that mentality that they had back in the day. Even with the switching teams and stuff, they never used to do that. You go to one team, you stay there.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>LaMelo, who\u2019s not even legally allowed to drink, also embraces his responsibility as the Hornets\u2019 third overall pick last season. The reigning Rookie of the Year knows the significance of sticking with a squad and helping it develop from the ground up.<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cYou supposed to just go to a team and build from there\u2014I feel like that\u2019s how it should be. Especially when you like a high pick too, most likely going to a team that wasn\u2019t as good, so you try to make them better. I feel like that\u2019s the whole process right there.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>With the Hornets already locking up win no. 1 this season, expect LaMelo Ball to ball out even more in <a href=\"https:\/\/clutchpoints.com\/sports\/nba\/charlotte-hornets\/schedule\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">their upcoming games<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20405\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/lamelo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"298\" height=\"169\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward and the <a title=\"Charlotte Hornets\" href=\"https:\/\/clutchpoints.com\/sports\/nba\/charlotte-hornets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charlotte Hornets<\/a> defeated the <a title=\"Indiana Pacers\" href=\"https:\/\/clutchpoints.com\/sports\/nba\/indiana-pacers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Indiana Pacers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/clutchpoints.com\/scores\/nba\/boxscore\/indiana-pacers-charlotte-hornets-10-21-2021\/9ad07c38-21ee-4afb-aaf5-40c80adaac95\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">123-122<\/a>. However, they didn\u2019t have a good first half\u2013in fact, it was pretty terrible.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>At the start of the third quarter, the Hornets were down by 23 points. In a shocking twist, thought, they found their rhythm and went on a 24-0 run for roughly seven minutes to end the period. They earned this win and showed off one major key for the roster: resilience.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Of course, Coach James Borrego wasn\u2019t excited about the slow start, but he found the silver lining in being down by a bunch.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-22782\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/LA-BALL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cResiliency and perseverance. Those are the two words you\u2019re going to hear throughout the year,\u201d Borrego said. He admitted that the Pacers were the more physical and aggressive team throughout the first half. They flipped the script and it\u2019s all thanks to their stifling defense.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cIt started with our defense \u2013 we held them to 13 points in the third quarter. So, overall I think it was our defensive mentality,\u201d Borrego continued.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>He\u2019s on the money. Those stops helped the Hornets get out in transition and convert easy fast-break points in that third quarter. Which is where LaMelo Ball dominated. He finished the game with a team-high 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Not to mention, he tied his career-high for threes made in a game with seven and only missed two of them. Ball sparked the run that allowed the team to claw back into the game.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The game went down to the wire in the fourth quarter, but the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hornets\/status\/1450993480709382154\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hornets veterans stepped up big<\/a> for the team in crunch time. Ish Smith and Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in with 14 points apiece, while Gordon Hayward banked 14 huge points in the fourth alone to complete the comeback. Hayward hasn\u2019t played a game since April and struggling pretty much all game long. Nonetheless, he came up big as the team\u2019s closer.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cEverything was short,\u201d Hayward said. \u201cWe picked it up in the second half and my shot started to fall, but then the fans got into it. It was a great game. I\u2019m just happy that we found a way to get the win.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>This was a tough, gritty win. The Hornets were slow to start this one, though they ended up piecing it all together to close it out. To win in the NBA consistently, you need your star to step up. Thankfully for the Hornets, LaMelo answered the bell. The 2020-21 Rookie of the Year shows no signs of slowing down in his sophomore campaign. While he is young, he displayed that he is already a leader.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Oh yeah, he put up the stats he did all while only playing 29 minutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The best is yet to come for this young team. Stay tuned for more Hornets action!<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"firstHeading\" class=\"firstHeading\"><strong>LaMelo Ball<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div class=\"css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2\">\n<div class=\"css-901oao css-bfa6kz r-14j79pv r-18u37iz r-37j5jr r-a023e6 r-16dba41 r-rjixqe r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">@MELOD1P<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"bodyContent\" class=\"vector-body\">\n<div id=\"mw-content-text\" class=\"mw-body-content mw-content-ltr\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n<table class=\"infobox vcard\">\n<caption class=\"infobox-title fn summary\"><strong>LaMelo Ball<\/strong><\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-image\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_(2)_(cropped).jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/8\/8a\/LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_%282%29_%28cropped%29.jpg\/220px-LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_%282%29_%28cropped%29.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/8\/8a\/LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_%282%29_%28cropped%29.jpg\/330px-LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_%282%29_%28cropped%29.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/8\/8a\/LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_%282%29_%28cropped%29.jpg 2x\" alt=\"LaMelo Ball Illawarra Hawks (2) (cropped).jpg\" width=\"220\" height=\"355\" data-file-width=\"379\" data-file-height=\"611\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"infobox-caption\"><strong>Ball with the <a title=\"Illawarra Hawks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Illawarra_Hawks\">Illawarra Hawks<\/a> in 2019<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>No. 2 \u2013 Charlotte Hornets<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Position<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data role\"><strong><a title=\"Point guard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Point_guard\">Point guard<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>League<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"National Basketball Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Basketball_Association\">NBA<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Personal information<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Born<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>August 22, 2001<span class=\"noprint ForceAgeToShow\"> (age\u00a020)<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Anaheim, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anaheim,_California\">Anaheim, California<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Nationality<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>American<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Listed height<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>6\u00a0ft 7\u00a0in (2.01\u00a0m)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Listed weight<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>180\u00a0lb (82\u00a0kg)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career information<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>High school<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data plainlist\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Chino Hills High School\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chino_Hills_High_School\">Chino Hills<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>(<a title=\"Chino Hills, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chino_Hills,_California\">Chino Hills, California<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>SPIRE Academy<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>(<a title=\"Geneva, Ohio\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Geneva,_Ohio\">Geneva, Ohio<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_draft\">NBA draft<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"2020 NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020_NBA_draft\">2020<\/a> \/ Round: 1 \/ Pick: 3rd overall<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Selected by the <a title=\"Charlotte Hornets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlotte_Hornets\">Charlotte Hornets<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Playing career<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>2018\u2013present<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career history<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>2018<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"BC Prienai\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/BC_Prienai\">Prienai<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>2018<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"Los Angeles Ballers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Los_Angeles_Ballers\">Los Angeles Ballers<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"2019\u201320 NBL season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019%E2%80%9320_NBL_season\">2019\u20132020<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"Illawarra Hawks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Illawarra_Hawks\">Illawarra Hawks<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"2020\u201321 NBA season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020%E2%80%9321_NBA_season\">2020<\/a>\u2013present<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"Charlotte Hornets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlotte_Hornets\">Charlotte Hornets<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career highlights and awards<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"NBA Rookie of the Year Award\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_Rookie_of_the_Year_Award\">NBA Rookie of the Year<\/a> (<a title=\"2020\u201321 NBA season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020%E2%80%9321_NBA_season\">2021<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"NBA All-Rookie First Team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_All-Rookie_First_Team\">NBA All-Rookie First Team<\/a> (<a title=\"2020\u201321 NBA season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020%E2%80%9321_NBA_season\">2021<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"NBL Rookie of the Year Award\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBL_Rookie_of_the_Year_Award\">NBL Rookie of the Year<\/a> (<a title=\"2019\u201320 NBL season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019%E2%80%9320_NBL_season\">2020<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Junior Basketball Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Junior_Basketball_Association\">JBA<\/a> champion (<a title=\"2018 JBA season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2018_JBA_season\">2018<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>JBA All-Star (2018)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/1630163\" rel=\"nofollow\">Stats<\/a>\u00a0<a title=\"Edit this at Wikidata\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q28741203#P3647\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/8\/8a\/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg\/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/8\/8a\/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg\/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/8\/8a\/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg\/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Edit this at Wikidata\" width=\"10\" height=\"10\" data-file-width=\"20\" data-file-height=\"20\" \/><\/a> at NBA.com<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><a class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/ballla01.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Stats<\/a> at Basketball-Reference.com<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div id=\"attachment_18388\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18388\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18388\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/L-BALL-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/L-BALL-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/L-BALL-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/L-BALL-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/L-BALL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/L-BALL-1080x720.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/L-BALL.jpg 1999w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-18388\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball shoots against the Toronto Raptors during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>LaMelo LaFrance Ball (born August 22, 2001) is an American professional <a title=\"Basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Basketball\">basketball<\/a> player for the <a title=\"Charlotte Hornets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlotte_Hornets\">Charlotte Hornets<\/a> of the <a title=\"National Basketball Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Basketball_Association\">National Basketball Association<\/a> (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the <a title=\"2020 NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020_NBA_draft\">2020 NBA draft<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ball began high school at <a title=\"Chino Hills High School\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chino_Hills_High_School\">Chino Hills High School<\/a> in <a title=\"Chino Hills, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chino_Hills,_California\">Chino Hills, California<\/a>, where he won a state championship and achieved national success as a freshman with his older brothers <a title=\"Lonzo Ball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lonzo_Ball\">Lonzo<\/a> and <a title=\"LiAngelo Ball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/LiAngelo_Ball\">LiAngelo<\/a>. Before his junior season, a coaching dispute prompted him to leave Chino Hills and sign with Lithuanian professional team <a title=\"BC Prienai\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/BC_Prienai\">Prienai<\/a>. In 2018, he played in the <a title=\"Junior Basketball Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Junior_Basketball_Association\">Junior Basketball Association<\/a> (JBA), a league created by his father, before returning to high school as a senior with SPIRE Academy in <a title=\"Geneva, Ohio\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Geneva,_Ohio\">Geneva, Ohio<\/a>. A former <a title=\"UCLA Bruins men's basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/UCLA_Bruins_men%27s_basketball\">UCLA<\/a> commit, he was a five-star <a title=\"College recruiting\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/College_recruiting\">recruit<\/a> but chose to forgo college basketball amid eligibility concerns and play in Australia for the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"The Hawks (NBL)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Hawks_(NBL)\">Illawarra Hawks<\/a> of the <a title=\"National Basketball League (Australia)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Basketball_League_(Australia)\">National Basketball League<\/a> (NBL) in 2019, winning <a title=\"NBL Rookie of the Year Award\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBL_Rookie_of_the_Year_Award\">NBL Rookie of the Year<\/a>. He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick in the <a title=\"2020 NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020_NBA_draft\">2020 NBA draft<\/a> and was named the <a title=\"NBA Rookie of the Year Award\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_Rookie_of_the_Year_Award\">NBA Rookie of the Year<\/a> in 2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ball and his brothers have attracted national attention since playing together in high school. His father, <a title=\"LaVar Ball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/LaVar_Ball\">LaVar<\/a>, also grew into a <a title=\"Celebrity\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Celebrity\">media personality<\/a> in 2017. Ball has a signature shoe by his father&#8217;s company, <a title=\"Big Baller Brand\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Big_Baller_Brand\">Big Baller Brand<\/a>, and a role on his family&#8217;s <a title=\"Facebook Watch\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Facebook_Watch\">Facebook Watch<\/a> reality show <i><a title=\"Ball in the Family\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ball_in_the_Family\">Ball in the Family<\/a><\/i>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"High_school_career\" class=\"mw-headline\">High school career<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Freshman\" class=\"mw-headline\">Freshman<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>In his freshman season, Ball started playing basketball for <a title=\"Chino Hills High School\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chino_Hills_High_School\">Chino Hills High School<\/a> in <a title=\"Chino Hills, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chino_Hills,_California\">Chino Hills, California<\/a>. He was teammates with his two older brothers, Lonzo and LiAngelo, and his cousin, Andre Ball.<sup id=\"cite_ref-latimes2_5-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> In his first game, Ball scored 27 points as a starter. On March 5, 2016, he scored 26 points in a win over <a title=\"Sierra Canyon School\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sierra_Canyon_School\">Sierra Canyon School<\/a> for the <a title=\"CIF Southern Section\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/CIF_Southern_Section\">CIF Southern Section<\/a> Open Division title. Later in the month, Ball helped his team capture the CIF Open Division state championship, recording 14 points in the title game against <a title=\"De La Salle High School (Concord, California)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/De_La_Salle_High_School_(Concord,_California)\">De La Salle High School<\/a>. Chino Hills finished the season with a 35\u20130 record and claimed the <a title=\"Mythical national championship\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mythical_national_championship\">mythical national championship<\/a>. Ball averaged 16.4 points and 3.8 assists per game and shared <a title=\"MaxPreps National Basketball Player of the Year awards\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MaxPreps_National_Basketball_Player_of_the_Year_awards#Freshman_of_the_Year\">MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year<\/a> honors with his teammate, <a title=\"Onyeka Okongwu\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Onyeka_Okongwu\">Onyeka Okongwu<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Sophomore\" class=\"mw-headline\">Sophomore<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>On December 26, 2016, Ball made national headlines for making a half-court shot two seconds into a game.<sup id=\"cite_ref-drains_11-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> On February 4, 2017, he suffered his first high school loss despite scoring a game-high 36 points, with <a title=\"Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oak_Hill_Academy_(Mouth_of_Wilson,_Virginia)\">Oak Hill Academy<\/a> ending Chino Hills&#8217; 60-game win streak. In his next game, on February 7, Ball scored 92 points in a win over <a title=\"Los Osos High School\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Los_Osos_High_School\">Los Osos High School<\/a>, the second-most single-game points in California high school history. He was criticized by analysts for <a title=\"Cherry picking (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cherry_picking_(basketball)\">cherry picking<\/a>, as he often waited near <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Half court\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Half_court\">half court<\/a> to get an open shot on his next possession instead of defending. Ball finished the season averaging 26.7 points and almost 10 assists per game, earning MaxPreps Sophomore All-American first team recognition. On July 27, he featured in an AAU game against five-star recruit <a title=\"Zion Williamson\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zion_Williamson\">Zion Williamson<\/a> that was featured in national sports media.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On October 2, 2017, before his junior season, Ball left Chino Hills to be <a title=\"Homeschooling\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Homeschooling\">homeschooled<\/a> because his father disapproved of newly-appointed head coach Dennis Latimore and school administration.\u00a0 <sup id=\"cite_ref-pullson_21-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> On December 7, he signed with agent <a title=\"Harrison Gaines\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Harrison_Gaines\">Harrison Gaines<\/a> to play professionally overseas alongside his brother LiAngelo. The decision indicated that he would not play college basketball. In the following days, Gaines offered the brothers to professional teams in various European countries and in Japan.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Senior\" class=\"mw-headline\">Senior<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<p><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:LaMelo_Ball_Spire.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/6d\/LaMelo_Ball_Spire.jpg\/220px-LaMelo_Ball_Spire.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/6d\/LaMelo_Ball_Spire.jpg\/330px-LaMelo_Ball_Spire.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/6d\/LaMelo_Ball_Spire.jpg\/440px-LaMelo_Ball_Spire.jpg 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"185\" data-file-width=\"900\" data-file-height=\"758\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\">\n<div class=\"magnify\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\"><strong>Ball (right) with SPIRE Academy at the Flyin&#8217; to the Hoop Invitational in January 2019<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>On November 5, 2018, after skipping his junior year and a part of his senior year to play professionally, Ball joined SPIRE Institute and Academy, a <a title=\"College-preparatory school\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/College-preparatory_school\">prep school<\/a> in <a title=\"Geneva, Ohio\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Geneva,_Ohio\">Geneva, Ohio<\/a>, where he played under head coach <a title=\"Jermaine Jackson (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jermaine_Jackson_(basketball)\">Jermaine Jackson<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-spire_28-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> SPIRE competed outside the jurisdiction of the <a title=\"Ohio High School Athletic Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ohio_High_School_Athletic_Association\">Ohio High School Athletic Association<\/a>, allowing Ball to play without concerns over his amateur status. A number of prominent high school teams canceled their match-ups with SPIRE because Ball&#8217;s professional experience would threaten their eligibility under their state federations. His team was removed from the Hoophall Classic tournament because event organizers did not meet a $10,000 request from a Ball family associate in order for Ball to play. On November 10, 2018, Ball debuted for SPIRE, recording 20 points, 13 assists and five rebounds in a 96\u201384 win over <a title=\"The Hill School\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Hill_School\">The Hill School<\/a>. On March 7, 2019, he scored 41 points, including 29 in the first half, in a 102\u201367 victory over Hillcrest Prep North at the Grind Session World Championship. Ball helped his team reach the final and was named season MVP. He was ruled ineligible for the <a title=\"2019 McDonald's All-American Boys Game\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019_McDonald%27s_All-American_Boys_Game\">2019 McDonald&#8217;s All-American Game<\/a> due to his professional experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Recruiting\" class=\"mw-headline\">Recruiting<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Ball verbally committed to play college basketball for <a title=\"UCLA Bruins men's basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/UCLA_Bruins_men%27s_basketball\">UCLA<\/a> at age 13, before starting high school,<sup id=\"cite_ref-uclacommit_37-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> becoming the third of his brothers to commit to the school. Ball, who was also recruited by <a title=\"Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Virginia_Cavaliers_men%27s_basketball\">Virginia<\/a> and Washington State at the time, said that UCLA was his &#8220;dream school.&#8221; He emerged as a top <a title=\"College recruiting\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/College_recruiting\">recruit<\/a> in the 2019 class during his sophomore season in high school. Most recruiting services considered him a five-star recruit and one of the top point guards in his class. When Ball returned to high school after a professional stint in 2018, he remained a five-star recruit.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The 2017 release of Ball&#8217;s Melo Ball 1 signature shoe by <a title=\"Big Baller Brand\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Big_Baller_Brand\">Big Baller Brand<\/a>, his family&#8217;s sports apparel company, threatened his eligibility under the <a title=\"National Collegiate Athletic Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Association\">National Collegiate Athletic Association<\/a> (NCAA).<sup id=\"cite_ref-usatodayshoe_44-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> Ball&#8217;s father ignored the concerns and considered having his son skip college for that reason. Ball&#8217;s signing of an agent and his professional experience further imperiled his NCAA eligibility.<sup id=\"cite_ref-mccann_30-1\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/LaMelo_Ball#cite_note-mccann-30\">[30]<\/a><\/sup> Despite questions surrounding his eligibility, which discouraged major <a title=\"NCAA Division I\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NCAA_Division_I\">NCAA Division I<\/a> programs from recruiting him, he expressed interest in playing college basketball upon his return to high school in November 2018. In the following months, however, Ball explored alternative options, including prep school, the <a title=\"NBA G League\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_G_League\">NBA G League<\/a> and professional leagues in Australia and China.<\/strong><\/p>\n<table class=\"wikitable\">\n<caption><strong>US <a title=\"College recruiting\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/College_recruiting\">college sports recruiting<\/a> information for high school athletes<\/strong><\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th><strong>Name<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Hometown<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>High school \/ college<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Height<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Weight<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Commit date<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"2\"><strong>LaMelo Ball <\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><i><a title=\"Point guard\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Point_guard\">PG<\/a><\/i><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Chino Hills, California\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chino_Hills,_California\">Chino Hills, CA<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>SPIRE Academy (OH)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>6\u00a0ft 6\u00a0in (1.98\u00a0m)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>180\u00a0lb (82\u00a0kg)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"nowrap\"><strong>\u2014\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"7\"><strong><a title=\"College recruiting\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/College_recruiting#Star_Ratings\">Recruiting star ratings<\/a>: <a title=\"Scout.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Scout.com\">Scout<\/a>:\u00a0<i>N\/A<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"Rivals.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rivals.com\">Rivals<\/a>:<a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:5_stars.svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/75px-5_stars.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/113px-5_stars.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/150px-5_stars.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"5\/5 stars\" width=\"75\" height=\"15\" data-file-width=\"535\" data-file-height=\"110\" \/><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"247Sports.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/247Sports.com\">247Sports<\/a>:<a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:4_stars.svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/1b\/4_stars.svg\/75px-4_stars.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/1b\/4_stars.svg\/113px-4_stars.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/1b\/4_stars.svg\/150px-4_stars.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"4\/5 stars\" width=\"75\" height=\"15\" data-file-width=\"535\" data-file-height=\"110\" \/><\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"ESPN\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ESPN\">ESPN<\/a>:<a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:5_stars.svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/75px-5_stars.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/113px-5_stars.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/5_stars.svg\/150px-5_stars.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"5\/5 stars\" width=\"75\" height=\"15\" data-file-width=\"535\" data-file-height=\"110\" \/><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0ESPN grade:\u00a093<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"7\"><strong>Overall recruiting rankings: \u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"Rivals.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rivals.com\">Rivals<\/a>: <i>\u2014<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"247Sports.com\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/247Sports.com\">247Sports<\/a>: <i>26<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<a title=\"ESPN\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ESPN\">ESPN<\/a>: <i>21<\/i><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"plainlist\" colspan=\"7\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong><i>Note<\/i>: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height\u00a0and weight.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><i>Sources:<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><cite class=\"citation web cs1\"><a class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/basketballrecruiting.rivals.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">&#8220;2019 Team Ranking&#8221;<\/a>. Rivals.com<span class=\"reference-accessdate\">. Retrieved <span class=\"nowrap\">May 21,<\/span> 2019<\/span>.<\/cite><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Professional_career\" class=\"mw-headline\">Professional career<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Prienai_.282018.29\"><\/span><span id=\"Prienai_(2018)\" class=\"mw-headline\">Prienai (2018)<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<p><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:LaMelo_Ball_Vytautas.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/64\/LaMelo_Ball_Vytautas.jpg\/220px-LaMelo_Ball_Vytautas.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/64\/LaMelo_Ball_Vytautas.jpg\/330px-LaMelo_Ball_Vytautas.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/64\/LaMelo_Ball_Vytautas.jpg\/440px-LaMelo_Ball_Vytautas.jpg 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"315\" data-file-width=\"1782\" data-file-height=\"2552\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\">\n<div class=\"magnify\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\"><strong>Ball with <a title=\"BC Prienai\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/BC_Prienai\">Prienai<\/a> at a <a title=\"London\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/London\">London<\/a> exhibition game in April 2018<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>On December 11, 2017, Ball signed with <a title=\"BC Prienai\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/BC_Prienai\">Prienai<\/a> of the <a title=\"Lietuvos krep\u0161inio lyga\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lietuvos_krep%C5%A1inio_lyga\">Lithuanian Basketball League<\/a> (LKL) with his brother, LiAngelo.<sup id=\"cite_ref-50\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> Ball reportedly became the youngest American to ever sign a professional basketball contract. The brothers&#8217; move to Lithuania was heavily reported by American sports media. Prienai withdrew from the <a title=\"Baltic Basketball League\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baltic_Basketball_League\">Baltic Basketball League<\/a> upon their arrival and took part in various exhibition games sponsored by Big Baller Brand. On January 13, 2018, Ball made his professional debut, going scoreless in five minutes against <a title=\"BC Lietkabelis\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/BC_Lietkabelis\">Lietkabelis<\/a>. On February 4, he scored a season-high 19 points, with four three-pointers and six assists, in a loss to <a title=\"BC \u017dalgiris\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/BC_%C5%BDalgiris\">\u017dalgiris<\/a>. In an exhibition game toward the end of the month, he suffered a leg injury that sidelined him for a month. On April 25, Ball left Prienai with his family, with his father criticizing the team&#8217;s head coach <a title=\"Virginijus \u0160e\u0161kus\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Virginijus_%C5%A0e%C5%A1kus\">Virginijus \u0160e\u0161kus<\/a>, in part because Ball did not receive enough playing time. He finished the LKL season averaging 6.5 points and 2.4 assists, shooting 26.8 percent from the field, in 12.8 minutes per game.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Los_Angeles_Ballers_.282018.29\"><\/span><span id=\"Los_Angeles_Ballers_(2018)\" class=\"mw-headline\">Los Angeles Ballers (2018)<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>On May 4, 2018, Ball signed with the <a title=\"Los Angeles Ballers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Los_Angeles_Ballers\">Los Angeles Ballers<\/a> of the <a title=\"Junior Basketball Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Junior_Basketball_Association\">Junior Basketball Association<\/a> (JBA), a new league created by his father as an alternative to college basketball, and was touted by the league as its &#8220;marquee player.\u00a0 In his debut on June 21, he posted a triple-double of 40 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals, shooting 15-of-40 from the field, in a 134\u2013124 win over the <a title=\"New York Ballers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Ballers\">New York Ballers<\/a>. Over eight regular season games, Ball averaged a triple-double with 39.6 points, 14.6 rebounds and 11.5 assists per game, while being named to the All-Star Game. In the playoff semifinals versus the New York Ballers, he scored a season-high 55 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists. He led Los Angeles to a JBA championship over the <a title=\"Seattle Ballers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Seattle_Ballers\">Seattle Ballers<\/a>. After the season, Ball was named to the league&#8217;s select team, called JBA USA, which would face several European teams on an international tour. On October 31, in an exhibition game versus <a title=\"BC Dz\u016bkija\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/BC_Dz%C5%ABkija\">Dz\u016bkija<\/a> on the tour, he was ejected after slapping an opposing player in the face during a scuffle. On November 5, he left the JBA tour to return to high school in the United States for his senior season.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Illawarra_Hawks_.282019.E2.80.932020.29\"><\/span><span id=\"Illawarra_Hawks_(2019\u20132020)\" class=\"mw-headline\">Illawarra Hawks (2019\u20132020)<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"thumb tleft\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<p><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_(cropped)_2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/11\/LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_%28cropped%29_2.jpg\/220px-LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_%28cropped%29_2.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/11\/LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_%28cropped%29_2.jpg\/330px-LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_%28cropped%29_2.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/11\/LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_%28cropped%29_2.jpg\/440px-LaMelo_Ball_Illawarra_Hawks_%28cropped%29_2.jpg 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"312\" data-file-width=\"515\" data-file-height=\"730\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\">\n<div class=\"magnify\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumb tleft\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\"><strong>Ball with the <a title=\"Illawarra Hawks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Illawarra_Hawks\">Illawarra Hawks<\/a> in October 2019<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>On June 17, 2019, Ball signed a two-year contract, including NBA out clauses, with the <a title=\"Illawarra Hawks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Illawarra_Hawks\">Illawarra Hawks<\/a> of the Australian-based <a title=\"National Basketball League (Australia)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Basketball_League_(Australia)\">National Basketball League<\/a> (NBL).<sup id=\"cite_ref-nbl_70-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He joined the Hawks through the NBL Next Stars program, which aims to develop <a title=\"NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_draft\">NBA draft<\/a> prospects. In August 2019, after playing for No Shnacks at the <a title=\"Drew League\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Drew_League\">Drew League<\/a>, Ball was named Leader of the New School, an award honoring the league&#8217;s top rookie. For the NBL season, he moved to Australia with his former SPIRE Institute coach Jermaine Jackson, who became his manager and helped him acclimate. In late September, he had success at the <a title=\"2019\u201320 NBL pre-season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019%E2%80%9320_NBL_pre-season#2019_NBL_Blitz_Tasmania\">NBL Blitz<\/a>, a pre-season tournament. He recorded 19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in a preseason win over the <a title=\"Perth Wildcats\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Perth_Wildcats\">Perth Wildcats<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On October 6, in his first regular season game, Ball tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 6-of-17 shooting in a loss to the <a title=\"Brisbane Bullets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brisbane_Bullets\">Brisbane Bullets<\/a>.\u00a0 <sup id=\"cite_ref-75\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He assumed a more important role following a season-ending injury to star point guard <a title=\"Aaron Brooks (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aaron_Brooks_(basketball)\">Aaron Brooks<\/a> on October 27.\u00a0 Ball recorded a season-high 32 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists on November 25, in an <a title=\"Overtime (sports)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Overtime_(sports)\">overtime<\/a> victory over the <a title=\"Cairns Taipans\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cairns_Taipans\">Cairns Taipans<\/a>, to become the youngest NBL player to record a <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Double (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Double_(basketball)\">triple-double<\/a>.\u00a0 In his next game, Ball posted another triple-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists but was held to 10-of-28 shooting in a loss to the <a title=\"New Zealand Breakers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_Zealand_Breakers\">New Zealand Breakers<\/a>. He became the fourth player in league history, and the first since the NBL switched to 40-minute games in 2009, to record consecutive triple doubles.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On December 8, before he played another game, it was announced that he would miss about four weeks of action after bruising his foot in practice.\u00a0 <sup id=\"cite_ref-80\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> On January 16, 2020, while still sidelined, Ball decided to sit out for the remainder of the season.\u00a0 He parted ways with the Hawks on January 28 to return to the United States and prepare for the <a title=\"2020 NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020_NBA_draft\">2020 NBA draft<\/a>. Through 12 NBL games, Ball averaged 17 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, shooting 37.7 percent from the field.\u00a0 At the end of the season, he was named <a title=\"NBL Rookie of the Year Award\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBL_Rookie_of_the_Year_Award\">NBL Rookie of the Year<\/a> over <a title=\"Kouat Noi\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kouat_Noi\">Kouat Noi<\/a> by five votes (49\u201344).<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"Charlotte_Hornets\" class=\"mw-headline\">Charlotte Hornets<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><strong><span id=\"2020.E2.80.9321_season\"><\/span><span id=\"2020\u201321_season\" class=\"mw-headline\">2020\u201321 season<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Ball was projected as the first overall pick in the <a title=\"2020 NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020_NBA_draft\">2020 NBA draft<\/a>. In the <a title=\"2020 NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020_NBA_draft\">2020 NBA draft<\/a>, which was held on November 18, 2020, Ball was selected with the third overall pick by the <a title=\"Charlotte Hornets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlotte_Hornets\">Charlotte Hornets<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-84\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He and his brother Lonzo, who was chosen No. 2 overall in the <a title=\"2017 NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2017_NBA_draft\">2017 draft<\/a>, became the first set of brothers to both be drafted in the top 3 of the <a title=\"NBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_draft\">NBA draft<\/a>.\u00a0 After an up-and-down preseason, he began the regular season coming off the bench. Ball made his debut on December 23, 2020, going scoreless along with one rebound, three assists, and two steals in 16 minutes in a 121\u2013114 loss to the <a title=\"Cleveland Cavaliers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland_Cavaliers\">Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On January 8, 2021, against the <a title=\"New Orleans Pelicans\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_Orleans_Pelicans\">New Orleans Pelicans<\/a>, Ball and Lonzo played in their first regulation game against each other at any level. Ball helped rally the Hornets from an 18-point deficit to a 118\u2013110 win. He narrowly missed a <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Triple-double\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Triple-double\">triple-double<\/a> with 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.<sup id=\"cite_ref-88\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> On January 9, at the age of 19 years old and 140 days, he became the youngest player in NBA history with a triple-double, breaking the record set by <a title=\"Markelle Fultz\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Markelle_Fultz\">Markelle Fultz<\/a> by 177 days. Ball had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 113\u2013105 win against the <a title=\"Atlanta Hawks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Atlanta_Hawks\">Atlanta Hawks<\/a>. On January 30, Ball recorded a then career-high 27 points, along with five rebounds, nine assists, and four steals in a 126\u2013114 win over the <a title=\"Milwaukee Bucks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milwaukee_Bucks\">Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>. For his performance in December and January, Ball was awarded with Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month after averaging 12.2 points, 6.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals over his first 21 games in the NBA. On February 1, Ball made the first start of his career in a 129\u2013121 victory over the <a title=\"Miami Heat\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Miami_Heat\">Miami Heat<\/a>. He finished the game with 14 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. On February 5, Ball recorded a career-high 34 points, along with eight assists, four rebounds, two steals, and one block in a 138\u2013121 loss to the <a title=\"Utah Jazz\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Utah_Jazz\">Utah Jazz<\/a>. He also became the youngest player in franchise history to record a 30-point game. He was named Rookie of the Month again for February after averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 13 games. On March 21, Ball suffered a fractured bone in his right wrist in a loss against the <a title=\"Los Angeles Clippers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Los_Angeles_Clippers\">Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> and was listed as out indefinitely. On April 19, Ball was cleared to resume basketball activities. On May 1, Ball made his return from injury, putting up 11 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, in a 107\u201394 win against the <a title=\"Detroit Pistons\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Detroit_Pistons\">Detroit Pistons<\/a>.\u00a0 After the season Ball was named the 2020\u201321 <a title=\"NBA Rookie of the Year Award\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_Rookie_of_the_Year_Award\">NBA Rookie of the Year<\/a> and was selected to the <a title=\"NBA All-Rookie Team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBA_All-Rookie_Team\">NBA All-Rookie First Team<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span id=\"2021.E2.80.9322_season\"><\/span><span id=\"2021\u201322_season\" class=\"mw-headline\">2021\u201322 season<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>On October 20, 2021, in the Hornets&#8217; season opener, Ball matched his career-high seven three-pointers, while putting up 31 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in a 123\u2013122 win over the <a title=\"Indiana Pacers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Indiana_Pacers\">Indiana Pacers<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-102\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Career_statistics\" class=\"mw-headline\">Career statistics<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<table class=\"toccolours\">\n<caption><strong>Legend<\/strong><\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u00a0\u00a0GP<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Games played<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0\u00a0GS\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Games started<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0MPG\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Minutes per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u00a0FG%\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Field goal (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Field_goal_(basketball)\">Field goal<\/a> percentage<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a03P%\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Three-point field goal\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Three-point_field_goal\">3-point field goal<\/a> percentage<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0FT%\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Free throw\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Free_throw\">Free throw<\/a> percentage<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u00a0RPG\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Rebound (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rebound_(basketball)\">Rebounds<\/a> per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0APG\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Assist (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Assist_(basketball)\">Assists<\/a> per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0SPG\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Steal (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Steal_(basketball)\">Steals<\/a> per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u00a0BPG\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Block (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Block_(basketball)\">Blocks<\/a> per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0PPG\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Points per game<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u00a0Bold\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Career high<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"NBA\" class=\"mw-headline\">NBA<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<table class=\"wikitable sortable jquery-tablesorter\">\n<caption>\u00a0<\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Year<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Games played\">GP<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Games started\">GS<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Minutes per game\">MPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Field goal percentage\">FG%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"3-point field-goal percentage\">3P%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Free-throw percentage\">FT%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Rebounds per game\">RPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Assists per game\">APG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Steals per game\">SPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Blocks per game\">BPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Points per game\">PPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"2020\u201321 NBA season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020%E2%80%9321_NBA_season\">2020\u201321<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"2020\u201321 Charlotte Hornets season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020%E2%80%9321_Charlotte_Hornets_season\">Charlotte<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>51<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>31<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>28.8<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.436<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.352<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.758<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5.9<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>6.1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1.6<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>15.7<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"sortbottom\">\n<td colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>51<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>31<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>28.8<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.436<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.352<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.758<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5.9<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>6.1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1.6<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>15.7<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<tfoot><\/tfoot>\n<\/table>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"NBL\" class=\"mw-headline\">NBL<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<table class=\"wikitable sortable jquery-tablesorter\">\n<caption>\u00a0<\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Year<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Games played\">GP<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Games started\">GS<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Minutes per game\">MPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Field goal percentage\">FG%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"3-point field-goal percentage\">3P%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Free-throw percentage\">FT%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Rebounds per game\">RPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Assists per game\">APG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Steals per game\">SPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Blocks per game\">BPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Points per game\">PPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"2019\u201320 NBL season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019%E2%80%9320_NBL_season\">2019\u201320<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"2019\u201320 Illawarra Hawks season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019%E2%80%9320_Illawarra_Hawks_season\">Illawarra<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>12<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>12<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>31.2<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.377<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.250<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.723<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>7.4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>6.8<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1.7<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.2<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>17.0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<tfoot><\/tfoot>\n<\/table>\n<h3><strong><span id=\"LKL\" class=\"mw-headline\">LKL<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<table class=\"wikitable sortable jquery-tablesorter\">\n<caption>\u00a0<\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Year<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong>Team<\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Games played\">GP<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Games started\">GS<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Minutes per game\">MPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Field goal percentage\">FG%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"3-point field-goal percentage\">3P%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Free-throw percentage\">FT%<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Rebounds per game\">RPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Assists per game\">APG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Steals per game\">SPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Blocks per game\">BPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<th class=\"headerSort\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Sort ascending\" role=\"columnheader button\" scope=\"col\"><strong><abbr title=\"Points per game\">PPG<\/abbr><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a title=\"2017\u201318 LKL season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2017%E2%80%9318_LKL_season\">2017\u201318<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"2017\u201318 BC Prienai season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2017%E2%80%9318_BC_Prienai_season\">Prienai<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>8<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>12.8<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.268<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.250<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.737<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1.1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>2.4<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.8<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>.1<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>6.5<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<tfoot><\/tfoot>\n<\/table>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Personal_life\" class=\"mw-headline\">Personal life<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<p><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Ball_family_post_game.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/9f\/Ball_family_post_game.jpg\/240px-Ball_family_post_game.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/9f\/Ball_family_post_game.jpg\/360px-Ball_family_post_game.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/9f\/Ball_family_post_game.jpg\/480px-Ball_family_post_game.jpg 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"135\" data-file-width=\"4826\" data-file-height=\"2714\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\">\n<div class=\"magnify\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumb tright\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\"><strong>Ball (right) with his father, <a title=\"LaVar Ball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/LaVar_Ball\">LaVar<\/a>, and brother, <a title=\"LiAngelo Ball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/LiAngelo_Ball\">LiAngelo<\/a>, after playing in a <a title=\"London\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/London\">London<\/a> exhibition game for <a title=\"BC Prienai\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/BC_Prienai\">Prienai<\/a> in April 2018<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Ball is the youngest son of <a title=\"LaVar Ball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/LaVar_Ball\">LaVar<\/a> and Tina (n\u00e9e Slatinsky) Ball, who are both former college basketball players. LaVar, who stands 6-foot-6 (1.98 m), competed with <a title=\"Washington State Cougars men's basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Washington_State_Cougars_men%27s_basketball\">Washington State<\/a> and then <a title=\"Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cal_State_Los_Angeles_Golden_Eagles\">Cal State Los Angeles<\/a>. Tina, who stands 6-feet (1.83 m), also played with the latter school.<sup id=\"cite_ref-architect_2-1\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> Later on, LaVar played professional <a title=\"American football\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/American_football\">football<\/a> as a <a title=\"Tight end\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tight_end\">tight end<\/a> for the <a title=\"London Monarchs\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/London_Monarchs\">London Monarchs<\/a> of the <a title=\"NFL Europe\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NFL_Europe\">World League of American Football<\/a> after being loaned from the <a title=\"New York Jets\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_Jets\">New York Jets<\/a>. In 2017, LaVar became a popular but polarizing sports <a title=\"Celebrity\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Celebrity\">media personality<\/a>, primarily for making outlandish remarks about the careers of himself and his sons. Ball&#8217;s cousin Andre plays college basketball for <a title=\"Pepperdine Waves men's basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pepperdine_Waves_men%27s_basketball\">Pepperdine<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Since his freshman season in high school, Ball has drawn the attention of national sports outlets and established a large social media following.<sup id=\"cite_ref-famous_106-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> By 2017, many analysts were calling him a <a title=\"Celebrity\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Celebrity\">celebrity<\/a>. Ball has a role in the <a title=\"Facebook Watch\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Facebook_Watch\">Facebook Watch<\/a> reality show <i><a title=\"Ball in the Family\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ball_in_the_Family\">Ball in the Family<\/a><\/i>, which was launched in August 2017 and documents the lives of his family members. On June 26, 2017, Ball appeared on a segment of <i><a title=\"WWE Raw\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WWE_Raw\">WWE Raw<\/a><\/i> with members of his family, during which he told his father, &#8220;Beat that nigga ass!&#8221; The <a title=\"WWE\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WWE\">WWE<\/a> later apologized for his &#8220;inappropriate language.&#8221; Ball is the subject of a <a title=\"Rapping\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rapping\">rap<\/a> single titled &#8220;<a title=\"Melo Ball 1\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Melo_Ball_1\">Melo Ball 1<\/a>&#8221; and released by his brother, Lonzo, on September 8, 2017.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On August 31, 2017, <a title=\"Big Baller Brand\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Big_Baller_Brand\">Big Baller Brand<\/a>, a sports apparel company launched by Ball&#8217;s family in 2016, released a signature shoe for him called the Melo Ball 1 (MB1).<sup id=\"cite_ref-114\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He became the youngest athlete to ever have a signature shoe.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><sup id=\"cite_ref-glover_116-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-18387\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/LAMELO-BALL-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/LAMELO-BALL-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/LAMELO-BALL-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/LAMELO-BALL-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/LAMELO-BALL-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/LAMELO-BALL-1080x1080.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/LAMELO-BALL-440x440.jpg 440w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/LAMELO-BALL.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<h1><strong>LaMelo Ball makes history in Hornets&#8217; comeback win over Pacers, draws MVP chants<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><strong>In his first game after his NBA Rookie of the Year campaign, LaMelo Ball picked up right where he left off.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And the crowd serenaded him with chants for an even more prestigious honor: MVP.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s only one game, but Ball helped the Charlotte Hornets erase a 23-point second-half deficit against the Indiana Pacers to secure a 123-122 victory in the season opener on Wednesday. A 24-0 run in the third quarter, in which Ball had 12 of his 31 points, sparked the Hornets&#8217; comeback victory.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"storyimage fullwidth inlineimage\" data-aop=\"image\"> <span class=\"image\" data-attrib=\"Sam Sharpe, USA TODAY Sports\" data-caption=\"Hornets guard LaMelo Ball scored 31 points with nine rebounds and seven assists against the Pacers.\" data-id=\"99\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:99,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;openModal&quot;,&quot;t&quot;:&quot;articleImages&quot;,&quot;o&quot;:30}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAPN10B.img?h=1201&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=390&amp;y=384\" alt=\"Hornets guard LaMelo Ball scored 31 points with nine rebounds and seven assists against the Pacers.\" data-src=\"{&quot;default&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;120&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAPN10B.img?h=1201&amp;w=799&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=390&amp;y=384&quot;},&quot;size3column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;94&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAPN10B.img?h=938&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=390&amp;y=384&quot;},&quot;size2column&quot;:{&quot;load&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;w&quot;:&quot;62&quot;,&quot;h&quot;:&quot;94&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAPN10B.img?h=938&amp;w=624&amp;m=6&amp;q=60&amp;o=f&amp;l=f&amp;x=390&amp;y=384&quot;}}\" \/> <\/span> <span class=\"caption truncate\">\u00a0Hornets guard LaMelo Ball scored 31 points with nine rebounds and seven assists against the Pacers. <\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Yeah,&#8221; Ball said after the game, &#8220;I definitely heard (the MVP chants). The city turnt. I love it. We&#8217;re gonna keep on trying to win.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p><strong><a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LaMelo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"161\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:161,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:54}\">#LaMelo<\/a> on MVP chants: &#8220;Yeah definitely I heard it. The city turnt. I love it. We&#8217;re gonna keep on trying to win.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>(via <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BallySportsSO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"162\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:162,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:55}\">@BallySportsSO<\/a>) <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/a5vnXlO1Z2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"163\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:163,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:56}\">pic.twitter.com\/a5vnXlO1Z2<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014 Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NickCarboniWCNC\/status\/1451000105545474049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"164\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:164,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:57}\">October 21, 2021<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ball, the third overall pick in last year&#8217;s draft, made seven of nine 3-pointers. He finished with nine rebounds and seven assists.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It was the third career 30-point effort for Ball, who became the third-youngest player with 30 points in a season opener. At 20 years and 59 days old, he also is now the youngest player in NBA history with at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in a season opener.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p><strong>LaMelo is the 3rd-youngest player ever with 30 points in a season opener \ud83d\udcc8<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>What a sophomore debut \ud83d\ude4c <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fqgCCraB2g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"165\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:165,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:58}\">pic.twitter.com\/fqgCCraB2g<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014 NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESPNNBA\/status\/1451002277586690049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"166\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:166,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:59}\">October 21, 2021<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p><strong>At just 20 years and 59 days old, LaMelo Ball becomes the youngest player in NBA history to record at least 30+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists in a season opener.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>(via <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jkubatko?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"167\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:167,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:60}\">@jkubatko<\/a>) <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/V93prLOzix\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"168\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:168,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:61}\">pic.twitter.com\/V93prLOzix<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014 Boardroom (@boardroom) <a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/boardroom\/status\/1451000823798960128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"169\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:169,&quot;p&quot;:59,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:62}\">October 21, 2021<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-5\">\n<div class=\"clsnxt3\">\n<div class=\"justin\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In his first game after his NBA Rookie of the Year campaign,\u00a0LaMelo Ball picked up right where he left off. And the crowd serenaded him with chants for an even more prestigious honor: MVP. It&#8217;s only one game, but Ball helped the Charlotte Hornets erase a 23-point second-half deficit against the Indiana Pacers to secure [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2405,1314,2432,1456,1156,2404,106,104,187,1],"tags":[4813,4814,3328,4303],"class_list":["post-22779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-global-business-entrepreneurs","category-global-gamers","category-global-news-updates-and-more","category-global-sports","category-high-school-sports","category-nba-sports-news","category-ncaa","category-ncaa-basketball","category-news","tag-2001-age-20-anaheim","tag-california-nationality-american-listed-height-6-ft-7-in-2-01-m-listed-weight-180-lb-82-kg-career-information-high-school-chino-hills-chino-hills","tag-california-spire-academy-geneva","tag-lamelo-balllamelo-ball-illawarra-hawks-2-cropped-jpg-ball-with-the-illawarra-hawks-in-2019-no-2-charlotte-hornets-position-point-guard-league-nba-personal-information-born-august-22","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}