LaMelo

LaMelo LaFrance Ball (born on the 22nd of August 2001) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Hornets chose him with the third selection overall in the 2020 NBA draft. Ball was voted as the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021. He was named an NBA All-Star the following season in 2022.Ball started high school at Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California, where he was the winner of an all-state championship and gained national recognition when he was a freshman along alongside his two older brothers Lonzo and LiAngelo. Following his junior year, a dispute with his coach caused him to sign with Prienai, the Lithuanian professional team Prienai. In 2018, he participated in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA) which was a league founded by his father, before going back to school in the year he was a senior with SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio. Ball was a five-star college recruit and committed to UCLA however, he decided to skip college basketball due to eligibility concerns and play in Australia with the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL) in the year 2019. Ball saw a rapid climb there. Ball was ridiculed by scouts before, who had feared that he would never play in the NBA.