Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball will be out at least one week after suffering a sprained left ankle during Monday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Early in the second quarter, Ball made an incredible step-back 3-pointer over Jarred Vanderbilt. As Ball was backpedaling down the floor, he did not realize that Vanderbilt was behind him and he stepped on the Lakers forward’s foot. Ball’s left ankle rolled and he collapsed to the ground in obvious pain.
Ball then committed a take foul to stop play and immediately hobbled to the locker room. He was quickly ruled out with a left ankle sprain and did not return to the game.
Ball underwent testing and the Hornets said Wednesday that an MRI confirmed the initial diagnosis of an ankle sprain for Ball. Ball was held out of Wednesday night’s game vs. the Nets, a 104-83 loss, and will be listed as out for Friday’s game against the Clippers before being reevaluated in one week.
Given the Hornets’ 12-32 record, which has them in 14th in the Eastern Conference, and Ball’s history of ankle injuries, it seems likely that the team will take the cautious route with his recovery.
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Ball has played just 214 career games due to an array of injuries. He fractured his right wrist late in his rookie season, then had a season-ending ankle injury in 2023 and multiple ankle issues in 2024.
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Prior to this season, Hornets coach Charles Lee said that Ball had shown a “real commitment” to taking care of his body and was planning to wear braces.
“There’s been some really good conversations and I think there’s been a really good plan put in place by our performance staff, front office, and coaching staff,” Lee said during training camp. “I think to start the year the plan is to try to wear the braces as much as possible to put him in the best position to have success. As we continue to go through the season, we’ll evaluate how that’s helping/hurting or if things are staying status quo.”
Images from Monday’s game show that Ball was indeed wearing braces on his ankles, but unfortunately they weren’t enough in this instance.
For the season, Ball is averaging 28.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, and narrowly missed out on being named an All-Star starter. He led the fan vote for Eastern Conference backcourt players and finished third in player voting, but was seventh in the media vote, which left him (3.0) just behind New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson (2.5) in the weighted score that determines the starters.
Ball could still be named to the All-Star roster as a reserve, but this injury may put his status for the event in jeopardy.
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