NBA Executive Heard Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball Took His Strength And Conditioning Very Seriously This Summer

An NBA executive heard Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball took his strength and conditioning very seriously this summer, according to Roundtable.

“I heard LaMelo took his strength and conditioning very seriously this summer for the first time since the Hornets drafted him,” the NBA executive said. “I don’t know if that’s going to help him from hurting his ankles again, it seems like he just has fragile ankles, but it’s definitely a good sign that he’s taking his body seriously. You could see at media day that he looks stronger in his arms and shoulders.”

At Hornets media day, Ball told reporters he was in the weight room a lot this summer.

“We just seen the little kinks and stuff and knew I had to get in the weight room and get stronger and stuff. So that’s pretty much what we did,” Ball said. “Just all around pretty much as a whole. They had me doing upper and lower. So everything.”

The Hornets haven’t made the playoffs since 2016. They will probably miss the playoffs again this season, but it’s certainly good to see Ball taking his body seriously since he’s the franchise player. The most games the guard has played in a season are 75.

Charlotte selected Ball with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Ball won the 2020-21 Rookie of the Year Award and made the 2022 All-Star team.

Ball will make $37.9 million this season. He played in 47 games for the Hornets last season and averaged 25.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists while shooting 40.5% from the field, 33.9% from beyond the arc and 84.3% from the free-throw line.

Charlotte is only 98-133 when Ball plays. Ball, though, isn’t feeling any pressure this season.

“I don’t really have no pressure,” LaMelo Ball said at media day. “Like I said, I just go in, play and try to get as much wins as we can and do as best as you could.”