LaMelo Ball keeps earning praise around the NBA this year. The Charlotte Hornets young player is doing great things with his team, although not everybody was convinced he could live up to the expectations his father had for him.
Melo is proving his doubters wrong, taking the Hornets to compete in the East and playing great and fun basketball every night. This team has a chance to make the postseason this year and Ball has played a key role in that situation. Things have changed for him in recent months as more and more people are realizing he is the real deal, including Draymond Green, who had nothing but good words to say about the young player.
During a recent appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Draymond talked about the Hornets rookie sensation, revealing one conversation he had with his mom about the kid and how he felt he wasn’t going to be this good in the NBA.
“My mom would call me earlier in the year [and say], ‘LaMelo is good,’” Green said, via UPROXX. “And I’m like, “Ah, ma. He’s putting up stats but a lot of people put up stats. I’m not sure I believe the stats.’ I hadn’t really watched him play.
“And as I’ve watched him play … my goodness. I texted my mom not long ago. I said, ‘Mom. You were right. LaMelo is problem.’ I love his game. He’s super fast. I had no clue he’s fast and downhill like that.”
Draymond Green on LaMelo Ball:
"LaMelo is a problem! … MJ got this one right." pic.twitter.com/wWU8cuRv1U
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 10, 2021
Green congratulated the Hornets for picking this guy and even Michael Jordan, who gave the ‘go-ahead’ for his team to draft the former NBL player.
“I love his game,” Green added, via The Spun. “He’s super fast, which I had no clue he’s fast and downhill like that. He’s extremely smart. He don’t even know how to play the NBA game yet. He’s just out there playing, like a little kid in a candy store, just playing and having fun. But he’s very smart. He passes the ball with the best of them already. He’s 6’7″, he has incredible size. I think Charlotte, M.J. got this one right.”
Things would have been very different for Melo since he was reportedly told the Warriors were going to get him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. They ended up drafting James Wiseman, opening the door for the Hornets. There were a lot of doubts about this guy in the first months of the competition but now he’s showing everybody he can be great in the association.
