It is shaping up to be another rough season for the lowly Charlotte Hornets, with the team sporting a record of 5-10 after the first 15 games of the 2023-24 NBA regular season.
As if not being able to get off to a good start to the 2023-24 NBA regular season wasn’t painful enough for the Hornets, star guard LaMelo Ball will miss considerable time after suffering another ankle injury.
Ball has seemingly dealt with an endless string of injuries throughout his NBA career, and now it has happened again with the team’s best player back on the mend, which is a devastating blow to this team’s chances of turning things around this season.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Ball went down with a severe sprain in his right ankle, and even though he avoided a fracture, he will miss an extended period of time.
Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball has suffered a serious sprain in his right ankle and is likely to miss extended time, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Tests show Ball avoided a fracture in the ankle, which required surgery last season, and a cautious approach is expected. pic.twitter.com/kciSB72aw9
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 28, 2023
Here are some fan reactions to Ball being set to miss considerable time after suffering another ankle injury:
Praying for a quick recovery man 🙏🏽 LaMelo was playing the best basketball of his career pic.twitter.com/63Uuas6Sje
— De🅿️ressed Warriors Fan 💔 (@GoIdenState) November 28, 2023
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
HE WAS DOING AMAZING
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) November 28, 2023
Lavar Ball really never fed his boys veggies
— Endi (@AndyLicious96) November 28, 2023
Ball family is cursed smh
— Ross Pins (@chisportsross) November 28, 2023
After being named an All-Star during his second season in the league with the Hornets, Ball ended up playing in only 36 games last season, as an ankle injury sidelined him for the majority of the 2022-23 NBA season.
This season seems to be more of the same for Ball, as his injury-prone ways will keep him sidelined once again after another promising start to the year individually.
Before going down with the injury, Ball was leading the team in scoring at 24.7 points per game while also leading the way in the assist department with 8.2 assists per game.
NEXT: Hornets Announce Concerning LaMelo Ball Update