After bypassing the US college system and spending a year in Australia with the Illawarra Hawks, Ball was taken with the third-overall pick in this year's draft, back in April.<\/p>\n
Ball is averaging roughly 16 points, six rebounds and six assists per game for the Hornets, who are currently clinging on to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n
![\"Trading](\"https:\/\/vms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/2021\/02\/344478\/pickerImage.jpg\")
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Ball had been on fire in the past two months, winning his conference's 'Rookie of the Month' award in both January and February.<\/p>\n
Ball is the fifth Hornets rookie to earn Rookie of the Month honours multiple times, and averaged more than 20 points per game in February.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESPNStatsInfo\/status\/1373802332115320833<\/a><\/p>\n Ball was as short as $1.10 at some betting outlets to win the Rookie of the Year award, but it will remain to be seen if he's done enough to stay at the front of the pack with 30 or so games still to play. <\/p>\n Both Anthony Edwards of Minnesota and Tyrese Haliburton of Sacramento were other contenders for the top rookie gong, and may pull ahead with strong finishes to the year.<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"