On Friday afternoon, Shams Charania reported that LaMelo Ball will officially miss the rest of the 2024-25 season with the Charlotte Hornets. Ball is preparing to undergo two procedures described as minor that will address lingering issues with his ankle and wrist.
Charania noted that Ball had been playing through pain in recent weeks. He and team officials met recently to discuss the best plan of action going forward, which ultimately led to this decision to shut him down for the season.
Ball will finish the season with 47 games played, the most he has been able to suit up for since the 2021-22 campaign. The last game he played in this season came on Tuesday against the Orlando Magic. The March 25 date for that game means he played later into this season than he did in either of the previous two seasons. LaMelo's final game in 2022-23 came on Feb. 27, and his last game of 2023-24 was on Jan. 26.
What this figure tells us is that Ball was able to stay a bit healthier this season, but not by a large margin. His second career season in 2021-22 wherein he played 75 games remains by far his healthiest season to date. Early on this season, it was a calf that sidelined LaMelo for 11 games in November, December and January. Then, the ankle injury he sustained against the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 27 caused him to miss additional time.
LaMelo Ball played his most games since the 2021-22 season
Before the injuries, Ball was playing at arguably the highest level of his career in October and November. The biggest critique of his play even then would have been his efficiency, and he finished the season shooting just 40.5%, a career-low. But LaMelo showed improvement on defense, and was able to produce at the level of an All-Star or even All-NBA level player from an offensive standpoint to start the year.
As the season went on and injuries stacked up, he took a small bit of a step back, and was not scoring as much down the stretch of the regular season, although his playmaking was still there. This could be attributed to several factors, the biggest of which being the situation with his father's health, and the fact that the Hornets were all but eliminated from the playoffs in the last several weeks.
Overall, it's a mixed bag on what we got out of LaMelo Ball this season. He certainly showed a lot of resolve to play through certain injuries, and his scoring punch looked as good as ever when healthy. The nature of Ball's "right ankle impingement" that is now sidelining him for the rest of 2024-25 will be a major topic of discussion until we find out more.
It is worth noting that this is the first time his condition has been referred to as "impingement" rather than "soreness" or "management." According to Charles Lee, Ball's upcoming procedures are "small," with "a short turnaround."