Let’s address the strikeout scenario of the Minnesota Timberwolves home run swing. Ball hasn’t been able to stay healthy in his career, and it could derail Minnesota’s blockbuster trade. Ball had only played 231 games through his first five seasons before last season, when he played 72 games. That’s an average of 46.2 games per season, or 56.2% of a season.
Ball has only played over 2,000 minutes twice in his six-year career, in 2021-22 and 2025-26. For context, six players logged 2,000 minutes for the Wolves last season, despite injuries to Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Naz Reid.
The biggest risk with Ball is his inability to stay healthy and play large minutes in a regular season. However, Ball had played on a Hornets team that won fewer than 30 games over three years and was continually chasing lottery odds.
Ball played the most games and minutes in the three seasons the Charlotte Hornets were battling for the playoffs and the play-in tournament. Certainly, there is a chicken-and-egg situation to discuss: Were the Hornets competitive because Ball was healthy? Or were they not shutting Ball down because they were playing well?
However, looking at his injuries and the timing might reveal the answer.
2020-21: Right wrist fracture
Ball’s first major injury was a wrist fracture, which slowed down his Rookie of the Year season. The injury occurred in a March 20 matchup against the LA Clippers. A day later, an X-ray revealed a broken bone in his wrist, and the following Tuesday, Ball would be set to be reevaluated in 4-to-6 weeks, which effectively ended his rookie season.
He would miss the next 22 games of the season before being cleared for the final 10-game stretch, in which the Hornets finished 3-7. Before the injury, the Hornets were 20-21 with Ball.
2021-22: Hip contusion, health and safety protocols
The 2021-22 season was arguably Ball’s best. He made his lone All-Star appearance and played in 75 games.
Ball only suffered one injury, a hip contusion in late November. He also missed six games in early December due to health and safety protocols, and another in January due to a different health and safety protocol. The Hornets went 39-36 with Ball in the lineup this season and made the playoffs.
2022-23: Three left ankle sprains, fractured right ankle
This is the official year of ankle concerns for Ball, spraining his left ankle in three of the first four months of the season. The first ankle sprain happened before the official start of the season and kept him out for the first 13 games.
Ball returned for three games before spraining his left ankle again on Nov. 16, 2023, causing him to miss another 11 games. He returned on Dec. 14 and played in 19 straight games before spraining the left ankle again. Before this injury, the Hornets were 2-8, and lost two of the next three games Ball missed.
He returned on Jan. 26, and the Hornets went 2-7 over their next 9 games before winning 5 in a row. Then, Ball fractured his right ankle on a non-contact injury against the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 2, 2023. The injury ended his season and required arthroscopic surgery, which he completed on March 1.
https://twitter.com/FDSN_Hornets/status/1630397151262957571/video/1?s=46
2023-24: Right ankle sprains
Ball’s fourth season was largely lost, as he played only 22 games. He started the season healthy, playing 15 games, before spraining his right ankle in a loss to Orlando on Nov. 26, 2023. He recovered from the ankle sprain and returned to the lineup on Jan. 12. Ball then played six of the next seven games before the Hornets shut him down for the remainder of the season to continue rehabbing his right ankle.
However, what could have been a rational decision, given that Ball had surgery on the ankle just 10 months prior, raised eyebrows. The Hornets finished the year 11-28 after Ball’s season ended. That gave them the third-worst record in the NBA and the third-best odds in the draft. They ended up selecting sixth.
2024-25: Calf, ankle and wrists
Ball again started the season healthy, playing in 18 straight games before suffering a calf injury that sidelined him for seven games. Upon his return, the calf injury lingered, and Ball went down with another ankle sprain, causing him to miss four out of the next 8 games.
In January and February, Ball was constantly in and out of the lineup. Sometimes it was for injury maintenance, and at other times for ankle and wrist sprains. Over the next 31 games, Ball missed 14.
Before getting shut down for the remainder of the season, with his last game being a March 25 loss to the Orlando Magic. The Hornets finished the season 1-9, and Ball played only 47 games. Their 1-9 finish to the season helped them maintain the third-worst record, but they were just 16-31 with Ball in the lineup.
2025-26: Finally healthy
That brings us to last season, in which Ball played a career-high 72 games, including playing the final 55 games of the regular season. Ball missed a handful of games early in the season due to a right knee contusion. However, Ball’s health came at the perfect time for a Hornets team that was a surprise play-in team.
Will Ball’s health affect the Wolves’ blockbuster trade?
Admittedly, Ball’s injury history isn’t ideal. There are a couple of seasons in which it’s possible Ball missed the end of them, either because the Hornets are looking for lottery odds or, in a less pessimistic view, to jump-start Ball’s recovery for the following season.
However, the ankle and wrist fractures are real injuries that took real time to recover. The six other ankle sprains that kept Ball out of games in the meat of the season also indicate he has legitimately concerning ankles.
Still, the trade was always a bet on the Wolves’ medical staff and Rudy Gobert’s million-dollar medical mansion being enough to keep Ball’s ankles from striking out the trade before it even begins.
