Ever since the Ball family burst onto the scene several years ago, there were question marks about their potential. We already saw Lonzo selected second overall but heard whispers that his younger brother Melo could surpass him in talent.
LaMelo took a unique path to the league, forgoing college and playing in Australia instead. He put up numbers, but many critics said his game wouldn’t translate or that he would be a big bust. Entering the league, he was picked third this year by the Hornets. He finished with zero points in his NBA debut, becoming the first top-3 pick to do that since Otto Porter Jr. in 2013. The only others to do the same in the past 15 seasons were Greg Oden and Hasheem Thabeet. And we all know how their careers turned out.
Due to his fame early in high school, people were quick to ridicule him as not the real thing. His first game just added fuel to that fire. However, LaMelo finished his rookie campaign on a high note to silence the doubters. At the end of the season, the race for Rookie of the Year was between LaMelo Ball and first overall pick Anthony Edwards.
There was undoubtedly a case for either individual, but LaMelo took home the hardware in the end. In the 2020-21 season, he boasted nearly 16 points per game and around six assists and six rebounds a contest.
Now LaMelo solidified his name as a problem in this league that teams need to be aware of game in and game out. He’s also turned himself into the cornerstone of the Hornets franchise. So down the line, their success or their failures will reside on his shoulders. While that is a lot of pressure for a budding star, LaMelo can now relax and enjoy the Rookie of the Year trophy with some extra validation that he shut down his critics.
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