Charlotte Hornets All-Star guard LaMelo Ball was on the court Thursday night for just the third time since returing from an ankle injury.
He now might be sidelined again with the same injury. Ball had to be helped off the court late in Charlotte’s loss to the Indiana Pacers after suffering an ankle injury. It did not look great.
As you can see, Ball was in a ton of pain after rolling his left ankle. Whether this is a sprain or something else remains to be seen.
The former lottery pick had a game-high 26 points to go with six assists while shooting 10-of-17 from the field before going down with this injury.
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Latest on LaMelo Ball’s injury
We’re waiting to hear more from Hornets head coach Steve Clifford on Ball’s injury during his post-game press conference Wednesday evening. For now, this can’t be seen as a good thing for the young guard and his team.
Charlotte currently finds itself with a 4-12 record through 16 games. It has dealt with a plethora of injuries throughout the early portion of the season. Meanwhile, Ball has been by far their best player since the Hornets made him the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
- LaMelo Ball stats (career): 16.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 7.5 APG, 43% shooting, 37% 3-point
Last season saw Ball lead Charlotte to a 43-39 record and a spot in the Play-In Tournament. The expectation was that this team would improve with Clifford returning to man the bench. That hasn’t been the case.
Stay tuned for more updates on Ball’s status as soon as they become available.