LaMelo Ball joins elite company with marvelous season-opening performance

The Charlotte Hornets point guard showed zero rust in the first game of the season.

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

It wasn't pretty, but the Charlotte Hornets scratched and clawed their way to a 110-105 victory over the Houston Rockets on opening night and a big reason they were able to leave H-Town happy was because of the performance that LaMelo Ball provided.

The Hornets PR team identified just how special of a night LaMelo had as he becomes just the 11th player in NBA history to record at least 30 points, five rebounds, and ten assists in a season opener.

The others on that list are Oscar Robertson, James Harden, John Havlicek, Isiah Thomas, Tim Hardaway, Sam Cassell, Rajon Rondo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Luka Doncic.

Ball finished the night with 34 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds while shooting 10-of-20 from the floor and 4-of-12 from three-point land.

"Just out here trying to win," Ball said in his postgame interview with FanDuel Sports Network. "Being back out here on the floor with the guys, just trying to get this first dub and that's what we did. Coach Lee at halftime, he said keep fighting, come out strong, and we got to compete. The main thing was competing and that's what we did. It definitely sets the tone. You don't want to lose."

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