LaMelo Ball

LaMelo Ball

23-Year-Old GuardG
Charlotte Hornets
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Ball has shown immense promise in fantasy, but the past two seasons have been riddled with recurring ankle injuries. The 23-year-old has played only 58 total games during this stretch, but he put up impressive averages of 23.5 points and 3.7 threes on 42/37/85 shooting, 8.3 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 34.1 minutes. The 2021-22 All-Star has 10 career triple-doubles in 184 games, showing off his versatility. It hasn't led to winning, though. That, combined with Ball's injuries, are the primary criticisms of the No. 3 overall pick from 2020. Last season was highlighted more by the return of Miles Bridges and the emergence of then-rookie Brandon Miller in the second half of the campaign. Both players are back for 2024-25, and Ball could be asked to share more touches with Miller, but as it stands, Ball is still the engine of the team. If injuries weren't a factor, Ball would likely be an automatic first-round selection. Managers will have to decide how to weigh the past couple years of injury trouble with his youth and upside. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Current Season
From Preseason
#23
ADP
$Signed a five-year, $205.9 million contract extension with the Hornets in July of 2023.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary

LaMelo was born Aug. 22, 2001 in Chino Hills, California. He's the son of LaVar and Tina Ball, who both played college basketball. LaMelo's brother, Lonzo is an NBA point guard, while his other brother, LiAngelo has played professionally. Ball is part of the Facebook Watch reality show called "Ball in the Family", which shows the life of the Ball family. The Big Baller Brand, a sports apparel company founded by Ball's family, has released a signature shoe for LaMelo titled the Melo Ball 1. He's the youngest athlete in history to have a signature shoe. Prior to the NBA, Ball played professionally in Lithuania and Australia. Ball did not attend college and opted to play basketball internationally instead. He began in 2017-18 with Vytautas Prienu of the Lithuanian LKL. He appeared in eight games (one start), averaging 6.5 points, 2.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 12.8 minutes. His best performance with the team was against Zalgiris, where Ball recorded 19 points (6-11 FG, 4-7 3Pt, 3-4 FT), six assists and one steal in 28 minutes. Ball's next contract came with Illawarra in the Australian NBL. There, he started all 13 of his appearances, where he averaged 17.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 31.3 minutes. His best performance was a win over Cairns, where Ball posted 32 points (11-20 FG, 4-7 3Pt, 6-8 FT), 13 assists, 11 rebounds and one steal in 40 minutes.

Game-high 36 points vs. Boston
GCharlotte Hornets
November 2, 2024
Ball contributed 36 points (15-26 FG, 6-12 3Pt), four rebounds, six assists and three steals across 37 minutes before fouling out of Saturday's 113-103 loss to the Celtics.
ANALYSIS
Ball was the leading scorer of Saturday's contest, and he did most of his damage from deep as he connected on six three-point shots for the second time this season. Through the first six games of the 2024-25 campaign, Ball is averaging 30.2 points, 6.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals over 34.0 minutes per game.
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Stat Review
How does LaMelo Ball compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
  • True Shooting %
    An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
  • Effective Field Goal %
    A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
  • 3-Point Attempt Rate
    Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
  • Free Throw Rate
    Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
  • Offensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Defensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Total Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Assist %
    An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
  • Steal %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Block %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Turnover %
    An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
  • Usage %
    An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
  • Fantasy Points Per Game
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
  • Fantasy Points Per Minute
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
62.3%
 
Effective Field Goal %
58.6%
 
3-Point Attempt Rate
55.6%
 
Free Throw Rate
21.1%
 
Offensive Rebound %
3.2%
 
Defensive Rebound %
13.4%
 
Total Rebound %
8.1%
 
Assist %
34.4%
 
Steal %
1.8%
 
Block %
1.0%
 
Turnover %
15.2%
 
Usage %
35.2%
 
Fantasy Points Per Game
45.7
 
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.3
 
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Total
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Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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Historical ADP
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Hornets Depth Chart
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Hornets Rotation: Minutes Breakdown
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Average Fantasy Points
Average Fantasy Points are determined when LaMelo Ball was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring LaMelo Ball See More
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
Ball is one of fantasy's brightest young point guards due to his all-around production. Last season, he averaged 23.3 points, 8.4 assists, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 35.2 minutes. The problem was that the Hornet played only 36 games due to recurring ankle injuries. However, Ball is expected to be ready for training camp and logged 75 appearances in 2021-22. His efficiency is another potential concern, as she shot just 41.1 percent from the field in 2022-23. Despite this, his 37.6 percent shooting from three on 10.6 attempts and 83.6 free-throw percentage help his overall efficiency. Charlotte's roster could look pretty different in 2023-24, as PJ Washington is a restricted free agent, and Miles Bridges signed a one-year deal after missing all of last year with a suspension. Most importantly, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Brandon Miller, should give Ball a high-quality shooter to set up from three and an athletic target in transition. If Ball can stay healthy and prove last year's injury was a fluke, he could average close to 25 points and 10 assists per game based on his current trajectory. Combined with his rebounding prowess, Ball could keep pace with or even out-produce fellow star point guard Trae Young at a potentially lower draft position.
Ball immediately impacted fantasy basketball during his rookie season, showing that he can be a significant contributor in multiple categories. He took his game to another level during his second season in the league, averaging 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. While his 42.9 percent shooting from the field was underwhelming, he shot 87.2 percent from the free-throw line, which was an increase of more than 11 percentage points compared to his rookie season. He also put up 2.9 three-pointers per game while shooting 38.9 percent from deep. To top it off, he played in 75 games, making his contributions even more valuable. The Hornets have not made any significant moves around him during the offseason, with their most notable addition being the selection of center Mark Williams in the draft. They are also now dealing with uncertainty surrounding restricted free agent Miles Bridges, who was arrested for felony domestic violence. All of the stars looked to be aligning for another big season from Ball, but a preseason Grade 2 ankle sprain figures to cost him some time to open 2022-23, likely dinging his fantasy value. Still, there's plenty of risk/reward with targeting Ball in the second or third round.
The 2020-21 Rookie of the Year had one of the more impressive debut seasons in recent memory. It didn't take long for him to be inserted into the starting five. He drew his first start in February and never gave up the spot. As a starter, he averaged 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals, and he racked up plenty of highlight passes along the way. From Feb. 1 onward, Ball ranked as the 42nd-best fantasy player on a per-game basis -- an extremely impressive mark for a rookie. His role won't change heading into 2021-22, and there's a good chance he'll be able to improve his stats in Year 2. He was a good three-point shooter (2.1 makes per game at 37.9 percent as a starter) but has room to improve his field-goal percentage (43.8%) and free-throw percentage (75.9%). If Ball can do that, or add to his counting stats, he should easily be worth a fourth-round selection in most fantasy drafts. Aggressive fantasy managers have justification to take him in the third round or possibly even late-second if significant improvement is assumed.
Ball elected to skip college basketball and played professionally in Australia during the 2019-20 season, where he averaged 17.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 31.3 minutes. He excels as a passer and has deep range as a shooter, but he'll need to improve his shot selection in the NBA, as he was essentially given free rein in Australia last season. The 19-year-old should work with Devonte' Graham and Terry Rozier in Charlotte's backcourt, with Malik Monk also in the mix, though it's not exactly clear how the minutes will shake out. It seems likely the Hornets will try to get Ball close to 30 minutes per game, in which case, he should be a reliable source of assists and rebounds. His field-goal percentage could be a significant drag, however.
More Fantasy News
Stuffs stat sheet in loss
GCharlotte Hornets
October 31, 2024
Ball chipped in 19 points (7-20 FG, 4-12 3Pt, 1-1 FT), three rebounds, six assists and two steals over 32 minutes during Wednesday's 138-133 victory over the Raptors.
ANALYSIS
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Fast start continues
GCharlotte Hornets
October 27, 2024
Ball (bruise) racked up 27 points (9-22 FG, 2-10 3Pt, 7-8 FT), eight rebounds, seven assists and one steal in 37 minutes during Saturday's 114-106 loss to the Heat.
ANALYSIS
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Available for Saturday
GCharlotte Hornets
October 26, 2024
Ball (bruise) is available for Saturday's game against the Heat.
ANALYSIS
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Iffy against Miami
GCharlotte Hornets
Bruise
October 26, 2024
Ball is listed as questionable for Saturday's game versus the Heat due to a tailbone contusion.
ANALYSIS
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Hits nine threes before fouling out
GCharlotte Hornets
October 25, 2024
Ball notched 34 points (10-20 FG, 9-14 3Pt, 5-6 FT), five rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal in 29 minutes before fouling out of Friday's 125-120 loss to the Hawks.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Hornets not trading him yet
GCharlotte Hornets
June 3, 2024
The Hornets are not interested in exploring trade possibilities centered around Ball, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer reports.
ANALYSIS
Injuries have prevented Ball from playing an entire NBA season, so there's a chance he might not be the lead guard the Hornets are looking for. However, the new regime wants to give him a chance to see if he can stay healthy. Ball's trade value is low because of his repeated ankle issues, so it's unlikely that other teams would give up multiple first-rounders in return for a player who's among the best point guards in the league when healthy.
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