CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 13: LaMelo Ball #2 of the Charlotte Hornets brings the ball up the court against the Dallas Mavericks during the first quarter at Spectrum Center on October 13, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Earlier this offseason, NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball would be changing his jersey number from No. 2 to No. 1.
On Friday, that swap was made official.
The Hornets’ Twitter account posted a series of photos showing Melo in his brand new No. 1 jersey.
“Always been 1 of 1,” the team wrote.
Ball rose to basketball stardom in a No. 1 jersey. He rocked the number as teenage prodigy for Chino Hills High School and as an overseas pro in Lithuania.
The All-Star point guard was forced to change his number when he entered the NBA as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft. When he arrived in Charlotte, Malik Monk — who now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers — was already rocking No. 1.
“I’m not supposed to wear No. 2 ever again in my life,” Ball told The Associated Press back in April.
The NBA world took to Twitter to react to this number change.
“It just feels right,” one wrote.
“LETS GOOOO 1 IS BACK,” another said.
“Finally, now I can cop the jersey,” another added.
Ball followed up his Rookie of the Year season with an even better year in 2021-22 — all while wearing the No. 2 jersey. This past season, he averaged 20.1 points, 7.6 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game.
“I feel like No. 1 is just me, so I just want to be me out there,” Ball added. “Playing at No. 2, it just doesn’t it doesn’t feel right. I mean last year was cool because my brother, I said I’ll be No. 2 for him because he ain’t play his rookie year or whatever, I think he got hurt or something, so I wore No. 2 for him, but it doesn’t feel right.”
Ball’s No. 2 Hornets jersey ranked top-15 in sales through the entire 2021-22 season. As one of the most exciting rising stars in the league, his No. 1 jersey will no doubt do some serious numbers in Year 3.
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