LaMelo Ball is dealing with an injury at the start of the 2022-23 NBA season.
In Charlotte’s penultimate preseason game, Ball sprained his ankle on a drive to the basket and did not return after leaving the contest. It was later reported that he was expected to “miss time” to start the season.
After winning Rookie of the Year in 2020-21, Ball earned the first All-Star selection of his career in 2021-22. Still only 21 years old, he’s one of the NBA’s best young stars.
What’s next for Ball? Here’s everything we know about his injury and the latest news on when he may return to the court.
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What is LaMelo Ball’s injury?
Ball sprained his left ankle on a drive to the basket in Charlotte’s preseason matchup with Washington on Oct. 10. After shooting two free throws, he left the game and did not return.
“With Melo, fingers crossed here that it’s not something serious,” Hornets head coach Steve Clifford said postgame.
Here is a video of Ball’s injury:
LaMelo Ball exited the game vs. Wizards with a left ankle sprain pic.twitter.com/luBqiWA0tk
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 11, 2022
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported the next day that Ball had been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left ankle sprain.
The Hornets selected Ball with the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He enters his third season with career averages of 18.3 points, 7.0 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game.
How long will LaMelo Ball be out?
Ahead of the Hornets’ Nov. 12 matchup with the Heat, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Ball is “expected to warm up with the intention of making his regular season debut.”
Ball has missed Charlotte’s first 13 games of the 2022-23 season. The Hornets went 3-3 through six games before a seven-game losing streak dropped them to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
LaMelo Ball career stats, highlights
- 18.3 points per game
- 7.0 assists per game
- 6.4 rebounds per game
- 1.6 steals per game
- 0.4 blocks per game
- 3.1 turnovers per game
- 30.9 minutes per game
- 43.1 percent field goal shooting
- 37.8 percent 3-point shooting
- 82.6 percent free throw shooting