NBA Draft: Grading every first-round pick after rookie year

NBA Draft: Grading every first-round pick after rookie year: 3. LaMelo Ball

Stats:

• 15.7 points
• 5.9 rebounds
• 6.1 assists

Thanks to his father/hype man LaVar Ball, LaMelo Ball came into the league with sky-high expectations. He was supremely confident and received high praise but in his first game under the bright lights, everyone gave him an incredulous look as he stunk up the joint.

With zero points in his season opener, Ball became the first top three selected draft pick to not score a single point in their debut in seven years. But while everyone began insinuating that he couldn’t make it due to one poor outing, all he did was make everyone eat their words.

Ball is considered by most to be the most well-rounded player in the entire draft. His jump shot may come out a bit funky but he knocked down 35.2 percent from the beyond the arc, a respectable number. Less than a month into his rookie year and Ball became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double as he poured in 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 11 assists against the Atlanta Hawks.

Even with what was first diagnosed as a season-ending wrist injury, Ball managed to make it back in time. With his help, the Hornets made the play-in tournament but were destroyed by the Indiana Pacers.

The league today is filled with a long list of young stars, but Ball is considered as good as any of them. According to ESPN, Ball was rated as the third best player under the age of 25 (subscription required), just behind Luka Doncic and Zion Williamson and ahead of young All-Stars like Donovan Mitchell, Ben Simmons and Jayson Tatum. Simply put, Ball has superstar written all over him.

Grade: A+