CHARLOTTE, N.C. — He’s the life of the party without even trying, the guy toward whom people gravitate thanks to an infectious smile that puts them in a giddy trance.
All it takes is a few precious seconds with LaMelo Ball to realize he’s simply different from others. He’s been that way for years, essentially serving as a walking reality program that reminds one of his teammates of a late-1990s movie starring Jim Carrey.
“I told him the other day, he’s like living in the ‘Truman Show,’ ” said Terry Rozier, one of Ball’s closest friends on the team. “It’s basically like his life. Everybody is watching his life and so invested in his life since a young kid, and it’s just all about him. It’s deep.
“I told him that’s what his life is like. He’s a great person, a great teammate, great person to be around. I’m just happy that he keeps exceeding expectations.”
Ball’s arrival in Charlotte as the No. 3 overall selection in the 2020 NBA draft injected a new kind of excitement into the Hornets, providing a thirsty fan base with something it hadn’t felt in ages: Hope. He’s the exact thing for which this franchise and city have yearned, particularly since the Hornets have failed so spectacularly at finding the right top-tiered lottery picks.
Season tickets sales have gone through the Spectrum Center roof — with lower bowl season tickets sold out for the first time since the NBA returned to Charlotte. Multi-game packages available in the arena’s lower bowl are scarce. The fans come to see a young team engineered by Ball, taking glee in watching the slender, 6-foot-7 superstar race up and down the court in his trademark flashy sneakers, whipping passes and hoisting 3-pointers.
'We are fortunate that he’s here’
His jerseys — the old No. 2 and his sparkling new No. 1 — are everywhere — opposing arenas included. That honor is mostly reserved for transcendent players, those who become league-wide fan favorites. As he embarks on his third season, Ball has proven he’s in that same category, thanks to his rapid rise.
“It’s dope,” Rozier said. “S---, I call him ‘Franchise.’ I call him that all the time. I call him 'Franchise' just to let him know that this is really your stuff man, and we are building all this stuff for you, and I think it’s lit because all the kids know who he is. So they ... following the Hornets. That’s just dope to see.”
Ball is an ascending megastar in one of the league’s smaller markets. He’s the fourth-youngest All-Star in NBA history, and is just one of 11 players to be selected for that honor prior to turning 21 years old — which he did on Aug. 22 of this year.
He possesses all the ingredients and intangibles to push the Hornets to the next level.
“To be able to be a team that wins and can be a factor in the playoffs consistently, it starts at the top of your roster and it’s the hardest thing to get for any franchise,” coach Steve Clifford said. “So for sure I think for the most part, most of the time, especially for smaller market teams, it’s in the draft. And that’s where we are fortunate that he’s here.”
Now that he is, it’s imperative the Hornets put a sustained winnable product alongside him. They can’t waste these prime years. Although he’s 21, the Hornets’ window of opportunity will only last so long, and general manager Mitch Kupchak is charged with finding the right pieces to accentuate Ball’s strengths.
‘Trying to build right now’
Despite boasting a roster that got beat by more than two dozen points in the play-in tournament in each of the past two seasons, the Hornets return largely intact in 2022-23. Save for drafting Mark Williams and Bryce McGowens, re-signing Cody Martin and inking North Carolina native Dennis Smith Jr., they didn’t really make any moves.
Failing to shuffle the roster and instead sitting idle for too long could have dire consequences. Ball is a basketball unicorn that can’t be taken for granted.
He’s as confident as ever and that likely won’t change much whenever he returns from the sprained left ankle he suffered on Monday in the Hornets’ preseason loss to Washington. They are going to have to collectively establish an identity while also creating a culture they can be proud of.
“Man, we are all trying to build right now,” Ball told The Charlotte Observer. “Build a foundation, get that great base and just try to get as many wins as we really can.
“We’ve got to come in with the right effort, energy every day. People have got to see that you really want it and hopefully you just build on more and more. And then with that, get a whole team of killas.”
Last year, Ball became just the third 20-year-old player in league history to average at least 20 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in a season. The only others to accomplish that? LeBron James, now of the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic.
‘Definitely feel more comfortable’
Ball has already posted six triple-doubles in his young career, which is the third-most by any player in NBA history prior to turning 21. That’s why he’s in line for another step forward — whether it’s on the floor or off it.
“I ain’t going to lie,” Ball said. “Off, I’m always comfortable. On, I actually do feel real comfortable this year, just with the dribbling, bringing it up. Just everything. I think watching the game, you can tell for real. Just definitely feel more comfortable.”
He hasn’t gained veteran status yet. Still, the knowledge he’s acquired during his first two seasons is being put to proper use, setting the stage for improved awareness. He noticed the difference during the minutes he logged in the preseason — before rolling his ankle in the team’s next-to-last tuneup contest.
“It helps every night,” Ball said, “just knowing what’s going to happen. Seeing what’s going to happen, and just keep on playing the game and the same stuff happens. You kind of start to understand and pick and choose what to do or whatever you are going to do in the game. So yeah, it all helps.”
Ball’s evolving, educational outlook has the Hornets pondering the possibilities. They all perk up at just the mention of his name.
“He’s great,” Hornets forward PJ Washington said. “He’s a dynamic point guard. He’s pretty much one of a kind. We haven’t seen too many people like him. So just to be at his age doing what he’s doing is incredible. He has a long career ahead of him. I can’t wait to see how many strides he takes this year and see how much better he’s gotten in the gym. He’s always in the gym. He deserves all the credit he gets.”
‘He’s just unique. He’s Melo.’
Rozier has watched as closely as anybody. He knew Ball somewhat before they even became teammates and gets along with him to the point they’re almost like family.
That’s why he enjoys witnessing Ball’s growth, all while he’s in the crosshairs of a world not many can appreciate or understand. It’s akin to rock star status to the millionth degree.
“Just being that young and being in the limelight like that, that he’s in,” Rozier said, “it’s just a challenge for him to keep learning, keep getting better, keep growing, and he’s definitely exceeded that challenge. And he’s only going to get better. He’s a guy who wants to get better, he’s a guy that’s for the team. He’s just unique. He’s Melo.”
And happy to be in Charlotte.
“A great place for sure,” Ball said. “I just love being here.”
Then, in his typical easygoing fashion, he wasn’t done.
“If it’s in the States,” the Southern California native said, “I’m honestly cool.”
Even so, there’s a subset of fans who constantly present doomsday scenarios, believing Ball may want to eventually go elsewhere if the Hornets don’t get it together and start winning more.
Ball insists he’s unaware of the chatter.
“Nah, I feel like whatever you are looking for, you are going to hear,” he said. “So I just live my life. I really don’t be tripping on it.”
Same goes for the detractors, of which the Hornets appear to have many. Expectations outside their circle are low, and most oddsmakers don’t think they will even reach 40 wins. That would mean the continuity of a dubious streak: an inability for the franchise to finish above .500 for consecutive seasons.
“Yeah that’s something we’ve just got to take to ourselves,” Ball said. “If everybody is saying that, we’ve got to obviously man up, go out there and get some wins and prove them otherwise.”
