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LaMelo Ball is coming off of a fantastic sophomore season in the NBA. 

The third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft was an All-Star at just 20-years-old, and he helped the Hornets go 43-39.  

Ball averaged 20.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists per contest in 75 regular season games. 

Clearly, he is one of the best young players in the entire NBA. 

The new NBA 2K23 video game is coming out on Friday, and Ball is officially ranked as an 87 overall. 

For such a young player, who has never made the NBA Playoffs, the ranking is definitely high.  

That being said, he is a very talented player, and if he were not on the Hornets, they would have won nowhere near 40 games last season.  

Another reason he could be ranked so high is that he will probably have an even better season this year. 

In August, he turned 21-years-old, and he is the face of the franchise, so this is his team to be the star of. 

The Hornets made the play-in tournament in back-to-back seasons, but in 2021 they were blown out by the Indiana Pacers, and in 2022 they were blown out by the Atlanta Hawks.  

They last made the NBA Playoffs during the 2016 season, which was way before Ball had been drafted. 

With the way that their roster currently stands, it will be tough for them to get in the playoffs this season. 

However, if Ball turns into a legitimate top-25 player in the NBA than anything can happen. 

It's safe to say that he has the potential to carry them to a top-eight seed in the Eastern Conference.