Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball will miss the remainder of the regular season due to issues with his right ankle and wrist.
Ball will undergo minor procedures to help address both issues. There will be an arthroscopic surgery done for his right ankle impingement.
The 23-year-old superstar has not played at least 50 games since the 2021-22 season. He played just 36 games in ’22-23, 22 games in ’23-24, and now finishes ’24-25 with 47 games played.
He finishes this season with averages of 25.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.1 steals. Despite attempting 11.2 three-pointers per game, he only shot 33.9 percent from deep. Ball is the first player in franchise history to average at least 25 points and seven assists for a season.
Charlotte is deep in competition for the bottom of the standings with an 18-54 record. Only the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards are worse.
Ball Ankle Issues Raise Concern About Hornets’ Long-Term
Will there ever be a point when Charlotte can rely on Ball to be healthy? Ball continuing to deal with ankle issues has to be a genuine concern for the Hornets moving forward.
There is a solid core in place alongside Brandon Miller and Mark Williams, but even both those players have had their share of injury woes.
What’s scary is that the Hornets have already committed to a significant extension with Ball, a five-year deal worth $204M. It’s guaranteed money through the 2028-29 season and with this season down the drain, there’s four more left to attain value.
This is a franchise that hasn’t seen the playoffs since the 2015-16 season when Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson were leading the team. This year will make it nine straight seasons without a postseason appearance.
As a result of Ball’s playing style, it’s also extremely difficult to evaluate if Ball is genuinely capable of leading a winning team or if he’s putting up some empty calories on a bad team.
He takes questionable shots, gets exposed defensively on a regular basis, and has yet to showcase any level of commitment to mixing his daring style with discipline.
