Year 3 just wasn’t it for LaMelo Ball. The man’s injuries completely stole the season away from him, a fact made even more heart-wrenching when it’s considered that the man showed significant improvement during his time on the court. Unfortunately for him, after suffering multiple left ankle sprains over the course of the year, it was his right ankle that finally gave in.
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This seemingly innocuous injury turned out to be a broken ankle, effectively ending the man’s season. And while it was later reported that he’d had successful surgery, there had really been no update since. But now, one has finally been delivered to the NBA community. And it is beyond encouraging, to say the absolute least.
LaMelo Ball gets shots up in the Hornets’ training facility
LaMelo Ball is still just 21 years old, one of the youngest players in the NBA. So, it stands to reason that he’d recover from injuries quickly. And yet, we see the status of his older brother, Lonzo Ball, and suddenly things aren’t so cut and dry anymore.
That said, it appears that the case with LaMelo could be something a lot closer to the norm, as Hornets reporter Rod Boone recently revealed on Twitter. Here is his report.
“This is a positive sign, I’d say. No more boot and in good spirits as always.”
This is a positive sign, I’d say. No more boot and in good spirits as always. pic.twitter.com/EtaUpjownP
— Rod Boone (@rodboone) March 27, 2023
The fact that the player is out of a walking boot is a massive deal. It means that his lower leg has healed enough to the point where it no longer needs structural support. Further, while we do believe he was avoiding jumping, the man getting shots up likely means that the man truly is in good spirits.
The Hornets should consider themselves thankful. They seem to have a star that is not only healthy but happy at the moment. However, if the team around Ball doesn’t improve, we’re not sure how long that second part will last.
What’s going on with Lonzo Ball?
Over the last 2 seasons, Lonzo Ball has essentially become one of the NBA’s biggest stories. And of course, we don’t mean that in a good way.
You see, just as his career was picking up with the Bulls last season, the man suffered what was initially diagnosed as a light sprain of his knee, something that was later diagnosed to be a meniscus injury. A setback at the time, but one that wasn’t expected to keep him out for too long.
Fast forward to today, and the man has had one surgery to address the injured meniscus, another one to clean things up in there, and more recently, a third surgery to transplant cartilage into his knee. This has cost him a total of a little over 2 years with absolutely no progress.
Despite the multiple setbacks, Ball remains confident that he will one day resume his NBA career. And on that, we wish him all the very best. Given the kind of player he is and his story, there isn’t a single sane NBA fan in the world that doesn’t want to see this man play again.
