Although LaMelo Ball only appeared in 162 games during his first three NBA campaigns, he just reached an agreement on a five-year, $260 million maximum contract extension with the Hornets. With injury after injury limiting the 21-year-old’s potential, the player expects to come back stronger than ever next season.
The former #3 overall pick has decided to remain loyal to Charlotte’s roster which is slowly rebuilding itself with rising stars, recently adding top pick Brandon Miller and reassigning foward Miles Bridges.
The young guard recently averaged 23.3 points per contest in the 2022/23 season, establishing himself as the team’s leader, even though he missed the last 15 games of the tournament due to a broken ankle that occurred while dribbling Kroos against Detroit.
“It’s been a great summer and I’m just trying to get healthy,” Paul said during exit interviews just two months ago. “I’m looking forward to next season. Just listening to the coaches and going from there.”
However, this wasn’t the only health issue he struggled with last season, as he missed the first 13 games with a Grade 2 sprain on his left ankle, after a pre-season clash against Anthony Gill of the Wizards.
Just three games into his season debut, the 21-year-old aggravated the same injury. “Take it as a lesson to learn,” he said in April when reminded of his ongoing health problems. “(You) can’t really put yourself down too much.”
Now that he’s ensured he’ll stay at North Carolina, he’s hoping to help make good on the promise fellow freshman Brandon Miller made to fans to compete for the NBA title next season.
“Hopefully we get there and get the big trophy at the end,” the #2 overall draft pick said to the Charlotte fanbase.
Since the Hornets missed their seventh straight game, coach Steve Clifford feared LaMelo would go
Back in April, LaMelo Ball was questioned about his future with the Hornets, with the star guard only being able to say that he “plays it every day.” By this point, all he really cared about was staying healthy and working towards playing a full season injury free.
Then he added, “I love it here.” “I can’t really tell the future. We’ll just see how it goes and go from there. … Absolutely. The main thing is winning. Life is better when you win.”
His coach, Steve Clifford, admitted he feared that if the team didn’t start winning, eventually all of its players would leave. During exit interviews, LaMelo was the first thing on his mind.
“He wants to win so bad,” he said of the 21-year-old. “When you’re at his level, there’s some expectation. You’ll be compared to other points his age who haven’t had amazing playoff success but have had some success. It’s important to his career.”