Holding out his left hand in a fashion that would’ve made Darth Vader proud, LaMelo Ball headed to the Charlotte Hornets’ bench with that infectious smile of his beaming.
Ball had just used his off hand to toss in a shot, continuing an impressive performance that mirrored the brilliance flashed for a good portion of his rookie season. Those kind of scenes were missing six months ago, back in May when Ball defied the initial believed timetable after fracturing his right wrist in mid-March and suited up for the final 11 games. The Hornets were in the playoff hunt and Ball wanted to do his part to propel them to those postseason heights.