The Charlotte Hornets’ talented point guard LaMelo Ball has played his last game in the 2020/21 NBA season, according to multiple reports. Ball, who was the runaway favorite for this year’s NBA Rookie of the Year Award, broke his wrist and will likely have to sit out the remainder of the campaign as a result.
The Hornets confirmed Ball’s injury on Sunday, revealing that the 19-year-old player is currently dealing with a fractured bone in the wrist of his shooting hand. He got hurt in a 125-98 loss to LA Clippers on Saturday, taking a hard fall after a layup attempt.
The Hornets won’t announce the end of LaMelo Ball’s rookie season just yet as the teenager has an appointment with a hand specialist later this week. Internally, however, the organization reportedly already made peace with losing Ball for the rest of 2020/21.
Ball, who was Charlotte’s No.3 pick in last year’s draft, has surprised everyone with his stellar performances in his rookie year. He has been averaging 15.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game despite starting just 21 games.
Thanks to Ball, the Hornets managed to stay in the playoff contention and are currently sitting on No.8 in Eastern Conference. They also find themselves just 2.5 games behind the fourth seed.
