Charlotte Hornets (2020–2026)
Ball was projected as the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. In the 2020 NBA draft, which was held on November 18, 2020, Ball was selected with the third overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets. He and his brother Lonzo, who was chosen No. 2 overall in the 2017 draft, became the first set of brothers to both be drafted in the top 3 of the NBA draft. After an up-and-down preseason, he began the regular season coming off the bench. Ball made his debut on December 23, 2020, going scoreless along with one rebound, three assists and two steals in 16 minutes in a 121–114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On January 8, 2021, against the New Orleans Pelicans, Ball and Lonzo played in their first regulation game against each other at any level. Ball helped rally the Hornets from an 18-point deficit to a 118–110 win. He narrowly missed a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. On January 9, at the age of 19 years old and 140 days, he became the youngest player in NBA history with a triple-double, putting up 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a 113–105 win against the Atlanta Hawks, a record that would later be broken by Josh Giddey. On January 30, Ball recorded a then career-high 27 points, along with five rebounds, nine assists and four steals in a 126–114 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. For his performance in December and January, Ball was awarded with Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month after averaging 12.2 points, 6.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals over his first 21 games in the NBA. On February 1, Ball made the first start of his career in a 129–121 victory over the Miami Heat. He finished the game with 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists. On February 5, Ball recorded a then career-high 34 points, along with eight assists, four rebounds, two steals and one block in a 138–121 loss to the Utah Jazz. He also became the youngest player in franchise history to record a 30-point game. He was named Rookie of the Month again for February after averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 13 games. On March 21, Ball suffered a fractured bone in his right wrist in a loss against the Los Angeles Clippers and was listed as out indefinitely. On April 19, Ball was cleared to resume basketball activities. On May 1, Ball made his return from injury, putting up 11 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, in a 107–94 win against the Detroit Pistons. After the season Ball was named the 2020–21 NBA Rookie of the Year and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
In the Hornets' 2021–22 season opener, Ball matched his career-high seven three-pointers, while putting up 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a 123–122 win over the Indiana Pacers. On November 17, Ball put up 11 points and a career-high 14 assists in a 97–87 win over the Washington Wizards. On December 1, Ball recorded a then career-high 36 points, along with nine assists, five rebounds and three steals in a 127–125 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. On February 2, 2022, Ball recorded a then career-high 38 points, along with nine assists and five rebounds, in a 113–107 loss to the Boston Celtics. On February 7, Ball was named to his first NBA All-Star Game as an injury replacement for Kevin Durant.
Ahead of the 2022–23 NBA season, Ball changed his jersey number from the number 2 to the number 1. On February 13, 2023, Ball recorded 30 points, six rebounds and a career-high-tying 15 assists in a 144–138 win over the Atlanta Hawks. He also became the first player in Hornets history to record at least 30 points, five rebounds and 15 assists in a game. On February 15, Ball had 28 points, 10 assists and a season-high 12 rebounds in a 120–110 win over the San Antonio Spurs. He became the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in his career, behind only LeBron James. On February 27, during a 117–106 win over the Detroit Pistons, Ball suffered a non-contact right ankle injury. After the game, the Hornets announced that he had fractured his ankle and was ruled out indefinitely. On March 1, Ball successfully underwent surgery to address his injury and was ruled out for the rest of the season.
On July 6, 2023, Ball signed a five-year, $205.9 million contract extension with the Hornets. On November 5, Ball put up a triple-double with 30 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in a 124–118 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
On October 23, 2024, in the Hornets' season-opening game, Ball put up 34 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists in a 110–105 win over the Houston Rockets. Ball also became the first player in Hornets franchise history to drop at least 30 points and 10 assists in a season-opening game. On November 23, Ball put up a career-high 50 points, five rebounds and 10 assists in a 125–119 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He became the third-youngest player in NBA history to score 50. Ball followed up his 50-point performance against the Bucks by scoring 44 points in his very next game against the Orlando Magic in a 95–84 loss. In 47 starts for Charlotte, Ball averaged 25.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists. On March 28, 2025, the Hornets announced that Ball would miss the rest of the season to undergo two minor procedures to address ankle and wrist issues.
In an October 26, 2025 game against the Washington Wizards, Ball recorded a triple-double with 38 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists, his first since November 5, 2023. On January 8, 2026, LaMelo came off the bench for the first time since his rookie season. In the game against the Indiana Pacers, he scored 33 points, with 8 rebounds and 3 steals. On January 16, Ball dropped 30 points (nine 3PM), 11 assists and 9 rebounds in an 135–117 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On February 22, Ball recorded 37 points, a career-high ten three-pointers made, eight rebounds and seven assists without committing a turnover in a 129–112 win over the Washington Wizards, tying the Hornets single-game franchise record for made three-pointers.
Ball finished the regular season with 272 made three-pointers, second to his teammate, Kon Knueppel, who finished with 273 and led the league in three-pointers made. He and his teammate, Knueppel also became the first duo since Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to each have 270-plus three-pointers made in a season.
On April 14, Ball scored a game-winning layup to lead the Hornets to a 127–126 win over the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament. During the game Ball grabbed Bam Adebayo's ankle, causing Adebayo to trip and injure his lower back. Ball was later given a $35,000 fine and a Flagrant 2 foul. The Hornets would later be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Orlando Magic in the following play-in game.
