NEW YORK, NY. – The NBA announced today that Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has been awarded the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year. He is the third player in franchise history to receive this honor, joining Larry Johnson (1991-92) and Emeka Okafor (2004-05).
LaMelo Ball received 84 first-place votes and accumulated a total of 465 points from a global panel of 99 sportswriters and broadcasters. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards received the remaining 15 first-place votes and finished second with 309 points. Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton placed third with 114 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote, and one point for each third-place vote.
Ball averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.59 steals in 28.8 minutes over 51 games (31 starts), leading all rookies in assists and steals and ranking second in points and rebounds. He became the seventh rookie since the 1973-74 season—when steals became an official statistic—to average at least 15.0 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.50 steals in a season. He joins Magic Johnson (1979-80), Penny Hardaway (1993-94), Steve Francis (1999-00), Chris Paul (2005-06), Michael Carter-Williams (2013-14), and Ben Simmons (2017-18) in this achievement. Ball was one of only two NBA players this season to reach these four averages, alongside Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler.
On January 9, Ball recorded 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Atlanta Hawks at 19 years and 140 days old, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double. Other notable performances include a career-high 34 points, eight assists, and zero turnovers against the Utah Jazz on February 5 during his third career start, as well as 30 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and four steals against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 1. Despite missing 21 games due to a wrist injury, Ball finished with the second-highest number of assists (313) and third-most three-pointers made (92) by a rookie in Charlotte Hornets history.
Ball was named the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for each of the first three months of the season (December/January, February, and March). He also earned selection to the U.S. Team for the 2021 NBA Rising Stars rosters.
Charlotte selected Ball with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Prior to joining the NBA, Ball played for the Illawarra Hawks of Australia’s National Basketball League during the 2019-20 season, where he was honored as the NBL Rookie of the Year.
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