LaVar Ball might be right after all.
Eight months after claiming his son LaMelo would be the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, he has been awarded 2021 honor.
The 19-year-old Hornets guard was nominated alongside the Kings’ Tyrese Haliburton and the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards last month and was voted the winner despite playing in just 51 games.
Ball, the No. 3-overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, posted an average of 15.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game this season. Those stats put him in the top three in all of those categories among rookies. His ability to capitalize on 3-point opportunities — shooting 35.2 percent from deep — silenced doubters who worried about his transition to the NBA after he played in Australia and Lithuania.
Ball began his season coming off the bench, but he quickly became a force to be reckoned with and was promoted to starter. He led Charlotte to its first postseason berth since 2016.
While there is no doubt that the young guard can play, what makes this decision controversial is that Ball missed 21 games due to a wrist injury. This makes him the player with the fourth-lowest game participation in the award’s history, tied with Kyrie Irving at 51.
Edwards, the No. 1 overall pick, averaged 19.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 72 games. Haliburton averaged 13 points and 5.3 assists in 58 games.