LaMelo Ball is absurdly talented. Until he plays on -- let alone leads -- anything but a bad team, we're going to have endless debates about whether he's a true, substantive, winning NBA player. But there is no debating his talent. He can be, and often is, breathtaking.
There is absolutely nothing Ball can't do with the basketball in his hands, and on Saturday night he did something he has never done in an NBA game by scoring 50 points in a 119-112 loss to the Bucks. Ball required 38 shots, including 17 3-point attempts, in 40 minutes to hit the half-century mark, but hey, a 50-piece is a 50-piece.
Ball only had 10 points and halftime before exploding for 22 in the third quarter and 18 in the fourth as he tried to rally the Hornets back. He got them within five with his final bucket with 42 seconds to play, and Charlotte actually cut the deficit to two on a Brandon Miller 3-pointer (Miller was fantastic again with 32 points and 11 rebounds) with 15 seconds to go, but the Bucks were able to close out the win at the free throw line.
A couple notes on Ball's huge night:
- Ball and Miller are now the second-youngest duo to each score at least 30 points in back to back games. Only Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook did it at a younger combined age.
- Ball joins Kemba Walker as thew only two players in Hornets history with a 50-point game, though both of Walker's efforts came in games that went to overtime.
- Ball is the fifth player this season to score 50, joining De'Aaron Fox (60), Giannis Antetokounmpo (59), Paolo Banchero (50) and Victor Wembanyama (50).
But here's the most shocking number of all: Ball's previous career high was 38 points. That is a stunningly low number for a scorer as electric as Ball who has seemingly had so many big games. When my editor put the note in, I had to check it three times to be sure. It's true. Until Saturday, Ball had never scored more than 38 points in an NBA game. Guys score 38 in their sleep nowadays.
The first time Ball scored 38 was in February of 2022 in a loss at Boston, and the second time was less than two weeks ago in an overtime loss at Philadelphia. Ball is absolutely cooking this season at 30.2 points per game, the highest mark for any guard and behind only Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis for the league's overall scoring lead. He also leads the league with 73 3-pointers made.
Now he has a 50-point game to add to his list of accolades.