Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball suffered yet another ankle injury on Monday night, this time in bizarre fashion during his team’s 112-107 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 the 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.
The timeline for Ball’s return is unclear at this point.
“Yeah, I came in here pretty quickly afterwards, so I know that they’re still obviously doing some evaluation,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said after the game. “We’ll see what happens tomorrow as he comes in for treatment and stuff. But he did a great job of being in the locker room and being engaged when the guys came off the court.”
It’s still too early to say how long Ball may remain sidelined. Given the Hornets’ 12-31 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.
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.
How will Heat’s Jimmy Butler saga end? The six possible outcomes after his indefinite suspension
Sam Quinn
Prior to this season, 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 was averaging a career-high 28.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.5 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.
