LaMelo Ball made NBA history on Saturday night. By recording a triple-double at 19 years and 140 days, Ball became the youngest player to achieve the feat, besting Markelle Fultz’s mark by some 177 days.
Ball achieved his triple-double with style, finishing with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, leading the Hornets to a win over the Hawks. He connected on nine of his 13 field goal attempts and three of his five 3-point attempts and finished the game with a plus-minus of +18.
The feat came one night removed from Ball finishing just one assist short of a triple-double against the Pelicans on Friday. That game came on national television, introducing the NBA world to LaMelo Ball as a Hornet for the first time.
After his triple-double on Saturday, past and present NBA players and teammates took notice of Ball’s accomplishment and congratulated him on social media.
Teammates Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington shared their support of Ball on Twitter.
my boy @MELOD1P ROY easily
— PJ Washington (@PJWashington) January 10, 2021
Congrats Brotha only up from here @MELOD1P 🤞🏽🦍
— Miles Bridges (@MilesBridges) January 10, 2021
Trae Young, who shared the court with Ball on the night, congratulated him after the game. Young has been a long-time supporter of Ball in the past.
Trae congrats LaMelo on making NBA history pic.twitter.com/Rtd3IRiWWH
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 10, 2021
LeBron James congratulated Ball on Instagram for his accomplishment.
Former NBA player Jamal Crawford, another long-time supporter of the Ball family, tweeted his support of Ball.
LaMelo is so real. Love watching him play.
— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) January 10, 2021
Dominique Wilkins, who works on the Fox Sports Southeast broadcast for Hawks games, shared his thoughts on Ball after the game.
“It’s pretty amazing. I didn’t know what type of player he was going to turn out to be. I knew he had some size. He had ball handling ability and passing ability but he’s much, much more. He is a special talent and at 19 years old, to do what he’s done not just tonight (but) every night he gets on the floor, he’s being a factor out there on the floor. He’s a lot better than I ever thought. He’s going to be a really, really great player. If he continues the road that he’s on now, he’s going to change some minds in this league.”
Ball has a quickly-growing list of supporters that will only continue to expand with more performances like Saturday night.
