LaMelo Ball Will Miss Start of Hornets Season With Ankle Sprain

The Charlotte Hornets will begin the 2022-23 campaign without their star guard. According to Senior lead NBA Insider for The Athletic Shams Charania, LaMelo Ball suffered a Grade 2 left ankle sprain that will keep him off the court for the start of the season.

Charlotte Hornets All-Star LaMelo Ball has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left ankle sprain and is expected to miss time to start the regular season, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 11, 2022

Ball turned his ankle in Monday’s preseason loss to the Washington Wizards. After going down in the paint yesterday, he was visibly in pain before limping off the court with help. The highly-skilled playmaker had already been ruled out for Wednesday’s exhibition game against the Philadelphia 76ers, but obviously, this is much worse news.

It’s unclear how long the 21-year-old will be on the shelf, but typically, an injury of this nature requires 4-6 weeks to heal.

Ball is coming off a fantastic debut season. The former third-overall pick won the NBA Rookie of the Year award and received his first All-Star nod. LaMelo averaged 20.1 points and 6.7 rebounds while putting up a team-best 7.6 assists per game.

Despite the injury, Ball is still in contention for more NBA hardware this year. FanDuel Sportsbook has the California native with the seventh shortest odds (+3200) to take home Most Improved Player.