The Charlotte Hornets are set to keep their franchise star LaMelo Ball for the foreseeable future.
The 21-year-old point guard agreed to a five-year extension with the franchise worth $260 million, which will kick in during the 2024-25 NBA season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Just In: Charlotte Hornets All-Star LaMelo Ball is finalizing a five-year designated maximum contract extension that is worth up to $260 million, league sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2023
The 6-foot-7 player averaged 23.3 points, 8.4 assists, and 6.4 rebounds per game, shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from 3 in 36 games last season.
Ball fractured his right ankle last February and was ruled out for the rest of the year as the Hornets finished with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference, going 27-55.
The second among the Ball brothers will earn $10.9 million in 2023-24 in the final year of his rookie-scale contract before his pay will jump to $35.5 million in 2024-25 in the first year of the new deal.
The lucrative contract will keep the All-Star guard in Charlotte until the 2028-29 NBA season.
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Ball Receives One of the Biggest Contracts Ever
Ball's five-year, $260 million is tied as the second-largest contract in NBA history in terms of total value, only behind reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic's five-year, $270 million deal with the Denver Nuggets.
The Hornets selected the former Chino Hills player as the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and he was named the Rookie of the Year in 2021.
In his sophomore season, Ball was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game, where he scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting (4-of-8 from beyond the arc), alongside three rebounds and three assists.
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