LaMelo Ball exits game with ankle injury, will not return against Raptors

The calendar reads December 5th, but it feels like Groundhog Day for the Charlotte Hornets.

After rolling his left ankle less than three minutes into the third quarter, LaMelo Ball has been ruled out of the remainder of tonight's game against the Toronto Raptors. Before the injury, Ball had accumulated 11 points, two rebounds, and three assists on 4/9 shooting from the field.

INJURY UPDATE: @hornets guard LaMelo Ball left tonight’s game in TOR in the 3Q with left ankle soreness and will not return.
— Charlotte Hornets PR (@HornetsPR) December 6, 2025

Beyond just the box score, Ball was playing well. He was aggressive with the ball in his hands, consistently probing the Raptors' defense with the intention of getting to the basket and looking for his own offense. The Hornets were +2 in his 12 minutes and were up by six (55-49) when he exited.

Ball's injury comes at an unfortunate time

The injury comes when Ball had finally broken out of his season-long slump.

In Wednesday's loss against the Knicks, Ball played the best game of his 2025-26 campaign. He dazzled the Madison Square Garden crowd to the tune of 34 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists on 12/27 shooting. He looked like the LaMelo of old; a one-man offense that can get to his spot at will and eviscerate defenses anywhere inside the half court stripe.

On top of that, Brandon Miller finally returned to the court after missing a pair of games with shoulder soreness. The trio of Ball, Knueppel, and Miller has only played six of Charlotte's 23 games together (including tonight), making Jeff Peterson and Charles Lee's job of evaluating their core of promising young talent an impossibility.

The Hornets' next game is on Sunday evening against the Denver Nuggets, and it feels unlikely that we'll see LaMelo Ball suited up for that game. With both Collin Sexton and Tre Mann out with their own injuries, Charlotte's back court will be in for it going forward.

Charlotte leads Toronto by eight heading into the fourth quarter. The game can be streamed on the FanDuel Sports Network.

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