Details on LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller suspension.
LaMelo Ball, an All-Star point guard for the Charlotte Hornets, has been formally ruled out for the remainder of the 2023–24 season, continuing a disturbingly frequent trend, according to Charlotte’s PR department. He had surgery to repair an injury to his right ankle, and he is still healing.
UPDATE ON INJURIES: @hornets guard LaMelo Ball’s recovery from his right ankle injury will keep him out of the NBA for the duration of 2023–2024.
— Hornets PR Charlotte (@HornetsPR) 28 March 2024
Throughout his four NBA seasons, the one-time All-Star (who was an injured replacement player in 2022, but it still counts) has hardly been healthy. Despite missing 21 games as a rookie (mainly because of a wrist injury sustained late in the season), he was recognized as the Rookie of the Year for his outstanding play when healthy. He missed 46 games in the previous season, primarily due to surgery to treat a fractured right ankle. He will miss a stunning sixty bouts of games this year, more than any other.
The 6’7″ standout had a great season for the team in 2021–22 after submitting outstanding individual numbers during his only All-standout season. After finishing with a 43-39 record, Charlotte qualified for the play-in tournament, much like it had in his rookie year. However, despite this, the team was unable to go on to the playoffs, losing its only play-in game to the Atlanta Hawks 132-103.
LaMelo Ball is Bridged by Miles
During their game against the Washington Wizards at Spectrum Center on November 22, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte Hornets #0 Miles Bridges reacts with LaMelo Ball #1. Now that the ball is over, more
Getty Images/Jacob Kupperman
For the season, he averaged 20.1 points, 7.6 assists, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 75 games on a shooting split of.429/.389/.872.
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Ball will have averaged brilliant numbers when available as the 2023–24 season comes to a close. He had eight assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 23.9 points on.433/.355/.865 shooting splits on a nightly average.
Ball played for professional teams in Australia (the Illawarra Hawks) and Lithuania (BC Prienai in 2018), as well as a JBA team started by his father Lavar. He was selected with the third choice in a competitive 2020 NBA draft.
The Hornets are concerned about yet another injury-related absence, but it’s understandable considering their current record of 18-54 and their position as the No. 13 seed in the Eastern Conference. last summer, a five-year contract extension with a potential salary of $200–260 million was agreed upon.
Theoretically, along with troublesome forwards Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller, Ball symbolizes the distributing pivot at the center of what could be an exciting young squad of potential stars.
Thanks to his outstanding play so far, Miller, the No. 2 choice from Auburn in the previous year’s draft, is certain to earn the All-Rookie First Team. Miller is second only to Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs among rookies this season with an average of 17 points on.437/.373/.814 shooting splits. He also ranks ninth with 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 0.9 steals.
Even though he served an early suspension, Bridges has been the Hornets’ second-leading scorer behind Ball while playing in several more games. He is averaging 7.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, one steal, and 21.1 points on a shooting split .
