LaMelo Ball’s number change is official. Why it means so much to the Hornets’ point guard

LaMelo Ball finally has something he’s coveted from the moment the Charlotte Hornets plucked him off the draft board.

The No. 1 is all his.

Ball officially unveiled his new number in a social media post on Friday, showing he’s truly swapped the No. 2 he’s worn in his initial two seasons in the NBA for the one he’s worn most of his life. Ball couldn’t pry the No. 1 from Malik Monk when he arrived in town as third overall selection in the 2020 draft.

When Monk, who’s now with Sacramento, signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent last August it opened up the possibility for Ball’s number change. However, the league-mandated deadline to apply for a number swap had passed by the time of Monk’s departure, forcing Ball to wear No. 2 once more during his All-Star second season.

He wasn’t thrilled about it at all and was already looking forward in April to donning the new garb and getting rid of his old gear.

“I ain’t supposed to wear ‘2’ ever again in my life,” Ball said the day after the Hornets’ season-ending loss to Atlanta in the play-in tournament. “I promise you if I see a ‘2’ I don’t know what I’m going to do for real. I ain’t going to lie to you.

“I’ve just never been ‘2.’ It’s weird out there for real. It just don’t feel like you are playing. I don’t know who this is. I don’t know who ‘No. 2’ is. I know my brother (Lonzo). I don’t know no other No. 2s.”

As of Friday. Ball can scratch his name off that list.