Charlotte Hornets: LaMelo Ball’s case for Rookie of the Year

The Charlotte Hornets season did not end as many hoped with the Indiana Pacers beating Charlotte 144-117 in the debut of the NBA Play-In Tournament. Despite the tough loss, this season was one for the books for Buzz City with insane poster dunks, an energetic announcer, and LaMelo Ball living up to his hype. However, Ball wasn’t the only rookie that lived to their pre-draft hype, and the debate on who should win Rookie of the Year is still ongoing.

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The two biggest knocks on Ball’s chances at winning rookie of the year are the number of games he’s missed due to a wrist injury and another candidate, Minnesota Timberwolves’ guard Anthony Edwards. Ball was rolling before injuring his wrist and being sidelined for 21 games. He averaged 20.1 points, 6.7 assists, 6.2 rebounds in February, and 18.5 points, 5.4 assists, and 5.3 rebounds in March. During the same two months, Edwards averaged 16.1 points, 3.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 24.2 points, 2.5 assists, and 5.5 rebounds. Edwards continued to elevate his play in April while Ball missed the whole month due to injury, but how much impact should those 21 games have?

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Edwards is the better scorer and he proved that in May by consistently scoring throughout the last two months, but what about the overall impact on the game? Edwards led all rookies in scoring with 19.3 points per game with Ball coming in second with 15.7 points per game. Ball led all rookies in assists with 6.1, steals with 1.6, and finished second with 5.9 rebounds only trailing behind Detroit Pistons’ power forward Isaiah Stewart’s 6.7. Ball logged in the fifth most minutes per game at 28.8, Edwards averaged 32.1 which ranked second. It’s clear that Ball did more with his time on the court in fewer minutes and this was a big factor for the Hornets snagging a spot play-in tournament.

Despite the disappointing end to the season, the Hornets were much better than Minnesota, and Ball’s impact was bigger. It is Ball’s award to win, and, if anything, we could see two players win the award for the first time since Grant Hill and Jason Kidd won the award together after the 1994-95 season.