Charlotte Hornets select LaMelo Ball with third pick

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – The Charlotte Hornets added 6 foot 7 point guard LaMelo Ball to their roster with the third pick of the 2020 NBA Draft.

“Definitely excited,” said the newest Charlotte Hornet LaMelo Ball. “I’m just letting it all hit me right now. But like I said, I’m ready to play. I’m definitely ready to come in and just ready to lace them up.”

Ball recently played basketball with the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL in Australia. There, Ball averaged 17 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game and was the league rookie of the year at 19 years old.

“He’s a very young, talented player and he plays at the kind of pace that we like to play,” said Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak. “He has a kind of flare to his game that maybe has some entertainment to it more so than some other players. Having said that, that’s not why we drafted him. We drafted him because of his size and his length, the way he can handle the ball and pushes the ball.”

Ball’s brother Lonzo plays for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans. His father is LaVar Ball, who became a polarizing sports personality for making outlandish remarks when Lonzo was in college at UCLA and was then drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers.

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