LaMelo Ball is back.
The Charlotte Hornets All-Star is slated to return to the lineup Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs following a seven-week absence with an ankle injury, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Per the report, Ball participated in shootaround Friday morning.
Ball hasn't played since spraining his right ankle against the Orlando Magic on Nov. 26. The injury was to the same ankle that required season-ending surgery last season after he fractured it.
The news is welcome for a Hornets team that's gone 3-17 in his absence. The 8-27 Hornets enter Friday's action in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. Ball, 22, was averaging a career-high 24.7 points alongside 8.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals while shooting 38.8% from 3-point distance in the 15 games prior to his injury.
When healthy, the fourth-year pro has lived up to the expectations that made him the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA draft. But injuries have limited Ball significantly in three of his four seasons. He played in just 36 games last season and in 51 as a rookie in 2020-21. He was named Rookie of the Year that season despite missing 31 games and was named an All-Star in his second season when he play in 75 games.
Ball returns with the Hornets 6.5 games behind the 10th-place Brooklyn Nets, who would claim the final spot in the Eastern Conference play-in if the postseason started today.
