LaMelo Ball 'Better Than Everyone Thought,' Says Hornets Broadcaster Dell Curry

Charlotte Hornets commentator and former Hornets player Dell Curry showered praise of Hornets rookie guard LaMelo Ball in an interview Saturday.

Speaking with Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Curry had nothing but good things to say about the likely NBA Rookie of the Year front-runner: "My early impression is he's better than everyone thought. Better than what I thought, no doubt. Shoots it enough to keep everybody honest. More important, what I'm impressed with is the person he is."

Curry added:

"I can tell you his teammates love him, his coach loves him. He is fun to watch. He is fun to play with. He makes it fun to call a game every night. Because you don't know what's going to happen, but something good is going to happen. The other night he had an average game and almost had a triple-double.

"But just the joy he plays with, it's always about the next play. He never gets down. He keeps it real with himself. When he misses a shot badly, with no fans and the microphones, we can hear everything. He's honest with himself. He laughs at himself. That's big in the NBA, when you don't take yourself so serious, where you can handle your mistakes but also learn from them. He's a special player."

The Hornets made Ball the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, and he hasn't disappointed during the early stages of his career.

In 28 games (eight starts), Ball is averaging 14.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from beyond the arc.

He is outperforming the two players taken before him in Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman, and he has the Hornets exceeding expectations as a team, too.

Charlotte entered the 2020-21 season having missed the playoffs four straight years, but with a 13-15 record, it currently occupies the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Ball seemingly has a penchant for making those around him better, as Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, Devonte' Graham and P.J. Washington are among the Hornets players who have been highly productive this season.

At 19 years of age, Ball already looks like a fairly complete NBA player, and his ceiling appears extremely high.