Coming off his Rookie of the Year campaign, Hornets star LaMelo Ball has continued to thrive in his sophomore season.
In ESPN’s 25 under 25 ranking, LaMelo found himself at No. 5 on the list, two spots lower than last year’s ranking.
As ESPN’s Mike Schmitz notes, Ball’s trajectory is on the incline as ‘he improved in every major statistical category’ in his second year in the league.
“Ball dropped two spots largely because of the emergence of Morant and Young as two of the league’s top point guards. Ball is still on track to develop into the potential superstar that we projected after a sensational sophomore campaign in which he improved in each major statistical category.”
In 75 games this season, Ball averaged 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 1.6 steals while shooting a career-high 38.9% from 3-point range.
“He’s already one of the NBA’s best passers, and Ball has quickly answered any pre-draft concerns about his durability — he played 75 games in 2021-22 — and shooting, as he’s the youngest player in league history to make over 200 3s while ranking third in effective FG% on above-the-break 3s.”
With Ball and the Hornets playing in the play-in tournament for the second-straight year, clinching a playoff spot this season would be the next step needed for LaMelo to become a superstar in this league.
Check out ESPN’s full ranking here.
