The Charlotte Hornets have selected Chino Hills, California native LaMelo Ball with the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Charlotte is focused on LaMelo Ball with the No. 3 pick, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 19, 2020
At 6-foot-7, Ball is a taller guard. Still, he has a knack for creative passing, and his star power is unmatched by any other player in this class. The Ball family rising to fame thanks to Lonzo and LaVar helped raise LaMelo's profile, and it has only grown from there.
Ball's most recent run of play came with the Illarawa Hawks of the Australian National Basketball League, where he earned NBL Rookie of the Year honors. It quickly became evident that he was a force on the court, as he went on to become the youngest player to record a triple-double in the NBL.
Ball didn't stop there, though.
In his next outing, a loss to the New Zealand Breakers, he turned in another triple-double performance (25 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists). As a result, he became the fourth player in league history, and the first since the NBL switched to 40-minute games in 2009, to record consecutive triple-doubles.
In his lone season with the Illarawa Hawks, Ball turned in averages of 17.0 points on 37.5 percent shooting from the field (25.0 percent from beyond the arc), 7.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.3 minutes per outing.
Prior to his days of playing in Australia, LaMelo Ball was a star at SPIRE Institute, which is a prep school in Geneva, Ohio. In his debut outing with the team, he racked up 20 points, 13 assists and five rebounds as part of a 96-84 victory. Later that season, he poured in 41 points, including 29 in the first half, as part of a 102–67 victory. Clearly, this is a guy who can score the rock.
LaMelo started his high school playing days at Chino Hills High School alongside his brothers, Lonzo and LiAngelo, as well as Onyeka Okongwu. LaMelo left Chino Hills because of LaVar and spent time playing professionally in Lithuania and the JBA, a league created by LaVar. LaMelo then wound up at SPIRE.
With elite playmaking skills and a knack for creating his own shot, Ball has a lot of potential in the NBA. Furthermore, his lengthy frame should serve the team well on the defense if he's able to develop his skills on that end.
For now, we'll have to wait and see how LaMelo Ball is utilized on the court.
Follow Us
Subscribe