Hornets Star LaMelo Ball To Miss Rest of the Season

Charlotte Hornets superstar guard LaMelo Ball will miss the rest of the season due to ankle and wrist injuries.

ESPN's Shams Charania shared via X.

Charania also noted how these two procedures will be best for Ball and allow him to have a full offseason. For the past few weeks, Ball has been playing through the pain before he and the team decided that the procedures would be best for him and the team's interests.

The 23-year-old All-Star has dealt with ankle issues in the past, missing at least 25 games in each of the past three seasons. This season, Ball will finish it averaging 25.2 points per game, 7.4 assists, and 4.9 rebounds over 32 minutes in 47 games.

Ball has previously had surgery on his right ankle, and this is the second consecutive season the Hornets have shut down Ball on this exact date, March 28. The former lottery pick missed most of last season, playing in only 22 games.

Unfortunately, this is a normal occurrence for Ball, who has only played 75-plus games in one season in his career. In five NBA seasons, he has played in a total of 231 games out of a possible 400 games in his career.

Ball has missed almost half of the games he could have played in his career. It has been one thing after another for the California native. The Hornets selected the star guard at No. 3 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft.

While health has been an issue for Ball, there is no questioning his talent. He is a 21.0 points-per-game scorer in the league, with 6.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists. Ball is a career 42.1 percent shooter and shoots 36.5 percent from three. His career player efficiency rating (PER) is 19.0.

As of Friday, the Hornets have an 18-54 record, which is their worst record in the league. However, the future seems bright as they have collected six draft picks this season. Charlotte owns all of us first-round picks in the future and has a total of 11 first-round and 13 second-round picks moving forward.

Losing Ball is the second significant player loss for the Hornets. The Hornets lost their star young forward, Brandon Miller, earlier in the season due to season-ending right wrist surgery in January.

The Hornets have the third-best odds at the No. 1 pick this season at 14 percent, tied with the Utah Jazz and the Washington Wizards.

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