LaMelo Ball made every Charlotte Hornets fan hold their breath on Monday night. The Charlotte Hornets point guard went down with another ankle injury after stepping on the foot of Jarred Vanderbilt while getting back on defense. He’s already been ruled out for tonight, and there’s no telling when he’ll be back.
However, the Hornets may have dodged a bullet this time. They’re still likely to miss Ball in the lineup for a little while, but his season may not be over. NBA insider Shams Charania provided a cautiously optimistic report yesterday.
Shams on LaMelo’s ankle:
“The good news here is that there is some cautious optimism about it, but this was the opposite ankle. It was the left ankle, he had surgery on his right ankle last year” pic.twitter.com/URbHzwajx4
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) January 28, 2025
“I’m told that x-rays were negative on the ankle sprain, and he will undergo an MRI on Wednesday,” Charania said on ESPN. “The good news is, there is some cautious optimism about it, but this was the opposite ankle. It was the left ankle, he had surgery on his right ankle last year.”
Today is Wednesday, which means that breath the Hornets fan base has been holding will probably be released today. Whether it’s in relief or frustration remains to be seen, but Charania believes there’s at least no reason yet to be concerned.
Of course, there’s reason to be concerned that a player with a history of ankle issues is hurt again, but it’s hard to fault him for stepping on someone he couldn’t see. With the initial X-rays being negative, it’s unlikely that Ball fractured anything. That means it could just be a sprain, which would cost Ball weeks but not the entire season.
After he suffered the injury, Ball went down in pain immediately. He eventually got to his feet and hobbled over to foul and stop the clock before limping off the court. He was immediately ruled out for the game, which doesn’t bode well for his overall diagnosis. The Hornets said they’d provide an update when appropriate.
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