Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball will miss the remainder of the NBA season after fracturing his right ankle in Monday’s 117-106 win over the Detroit Pistons, league sources told The Athletic. Here’s what you should know:

• Ball went to the locker room during the third quarter after suffering the ankle injury, where X-rays revealed the fracture.
• The 2021 Rookie of the Year will be listed as out for the Hornets’ next game Wednesday against the Suns.
• Entering the game against the Pistons, Ball was averaging a career-high 23.4 points, 8.5 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game this season.

OFFICIAL: LaMelo Ball suffered a fracture in his right ankle in tonight’s home game vs. Detroit.

Presented by @novanthealth

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) February 28, 2023

Backstory

Ahead of Monday’s matchup, Ball had only appeared in 35 of Charlotte’s 63 games this season. He didn’t make his season debut until Nov. 12 after being sidelined through the Hornets’ first 13 games with a Grade 2 high left ankle sprain.

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The 21-year-old had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds, shooting 6-of-7 from 3 in 21 minutes during the victory over Detroit.

What does this mean for Charlotte?

With the Hornets mired at 20-43, their season was already basically over; this injury is just the exclamation point. Ball will miss the remainder of the season given the severity of this injury; the question is whether he can make a full recovery in time to hit the ground running for training camp next fall.

As far as the lottery is concerned, this shouldn’t have a big impact on tanking incentives. Charlotte is likely locked into the league’s fourth-worst record and a 12.5 percent chance of winning the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. With 19 games left, the Hornets are five wins ahead of the third-worst team, Detroit, and six wins behind the fifth-worst team, Orlando. — Hollinger

Required reading

(Photo: David Yeazell / USA Today)