LaMelo Ball was the season’s top newcomer.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA has finally revealed its Rookie of the Year winner. LaMelo Ball, point guard for the Charlotte Hornets, will take home the award. He was the third overall pick in the 2020 draft. The now-19-year-old skipped college and played professionally in Australia before joining the league.
Ball played a total of 51 games in the regular season, starting 31. He averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.9 rebounds.
He traveled an interesting path towards the award.
It was a tight race between Ball and Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Anthony Edwards. The latter was the first overall pick in the draft. Sacramento Kings Tyrese Haliburton was also a runner-up for the award.
Ball had plenty of ups and downs in his first NBA season. He became the youngest player in league history to drop a triple-double when he had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Atlanta Hawks.
He missed 21 games during the regular season. Still, his stellar play contributed to winning. Voters decided he was deserving to be named the NBA’s best rookie.
Plenty of NBA awards have been revealed over the past few days, including the All-NBA teams.
Check out Ball’s rookie season highlights below.
Andrew “Jetlag” Preisig | IG @ThankYouJetlag | Twitter @ThankYouJetlag
