The Charlotte Hornets not only got better when they chose to select LaMelo Ball with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, but they became immensely more popular, as well.
Charlotte Hornets: LaMelo Ball is city’s biggest sports star
The Hornets are not new to insane player fanbases. Jeremy Lin, who was only in Charlotte for a single season, brought an incredible amount of attention to the team. Linsanity in Charlotte happened to be during the team’s lone playoff season in recent memory, as well (or, at least the one appearance which the team was not swept).
Outside of basketball, Charlotte has had several stars, most notably of the NFL. Cam Newton is perhaps the most famous athlete to play in the city, winning the NFL’s MVP award in 2015-16 during the Carolina Panthers’ 15-1 season.
With that said, LaMelo Ball is already one of the more famous players for Charlotte sports in recent memory. He is, well, everywhere. National commercials, he has a well known shoe-deal, social media accounts and outlets such as Bleacher Report and ESPN can’t get enough of both he and his family. Similar to Cam Newton, Ball won his league’s Rookie of the Year award (and actually one-upped Newton, winning the ESPY for Best Breakthrough athlete ).
The Charlotte Hornets fan base is growing, in large part due to LaMelo Ball’s stardom. Less than a month after Ball was drafted, the Hornets’ twitter following reached one million. There is a clear excitement about what Ball brings to the sport of basketball, and he is rapidly becoming one of the biggest names that Charlotte professional sports has seen.
In terms of popularity, he may be just as (or even more) known that superstar half back Christian McCaffrey. He’s a pioneer for the particularly younger sports fans from the area, and that is genuinely exciting.
LaMelo Ball will be in the city of Charlotte for the considerable future, and his name is only going to grow in that time frame. Whether or not the Hornets are able to capitalize off of both his popularity and skills as a basketball player remains to be seen, but general manager Mitch Kupchak certainly appears to have a plan in place.