LaMelo Ball got one hell of a surprise after his Charlotte Hornets teammate Miles Bridges presented him the Rookie of the Year trophy in the sneakiest way possible.
Ball was named the Rookie of the Year on Wednesday, but before the news reached him, the Hornets made sure the would be the one to break it to him first.
With the help of Bridges, the Hornets used their team shop to surprise Ball. Seemingly making it look like they were filming him for a promo, the team staff brought the 19-year-old playmaker to the team shop. As he looked around, Bridges came out and started to get things rolling.
Bridges first showed Ball a jersey of him with Rookie of the Year written at the back. While LaMelo liked what he saw, he didn't seem to know what was happening before his teammate showed him the ROY trophy hidden behind another jersey. Funny enough, Ball didn't immediately notice the trophy, leading to an epic reaction as he realized he just won the award.
Miles Bridges gave LaMelo his ROTY trophy and his reaction is priceless đpic.twitter.com/W46jfLCkW7
â ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 16, 2021
It was indeed a memorable moment, and LaMelo Ball's reaction is just one for the books.
For what it's worth, it shouldn't have come as a surprise, though. Ball absolutely dominated in his first season and was impactful as Charlotte almost made it to the play-in tournament. Had it not been for his wrist injury midway through the season, it's entirely possible they made the play-in and LaMelo became the unanimous ROY.
In the voting for the award, Ball got 84 first place votes, a landslide victory over Minnesota Timberwolves youngster Anthony Edwards who was the only other rookie to get first place votes with 15.
NBA officially announces LaMelo Ball as Rookie of the Year. Voting results: pic.twitter.com/P2Xk1I5zU6
â Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) June 16, 2021
Then again, there were really no doubts Ball would win after he returned from his injury and picked up where he left off.
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