In the midst of a disappointing start to the season, the Illawarra Hawks finally caught a break against the Cairns Taipans thanks to a monster night from LaMelo Ball.
The 18-year-old guard led the Hawks to a 114-106 overtime win with 32 points — including a clutch 3-pointer to send the game to extra quarters —11 rebounds and 13 assists. His triple-double was the youngest by any player in NBL history and the first of Ball’s professional career.
For those that couldn’t stay up and watch Ball and the Hawks take on the Taipans, the NBL posted every highlight from Ball’s triple-double on Twitter Monday morning.
What the highlights don’t show, though, is just how well Ball was taking care of the Ball. In addition to dishing out 13 assists, Ball turned over the ball just two times. As impressive as a 30-point triple-double is, seemingly small things like Ball’s assists to turnover ratio are what’s going to separate him from the other guards at the top of the draft like Cole Anthony and Anthony Edwards. It also doesn’t hurt that Ball is pushing 6’7.
Ball will look to build on his breakout game on Friday, when the Hawks take on RJ Hampton — another 2020 NBA Draft hopeful — and the New Zealand Breakers.
