brothers to both be drafted in the top 3 of the NBA draft. After an up-and-down preseason, he began the regular season coming off the bench. Ball made his debut on December 23, 2020, going scoreless along with one rebound, three assists, and two steals in 16 minutes in a 121–114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. On January 8, 2021, against the New Orleans Pelicans, Ball and Lonzo played in their first regulation game against each other at any level. Ball helped rally the Hornets from an 18-point deficit to a 118–110 win. He narrowly missed a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. On January 9, at the age of 19 years old and 140 days, he became the youngest player in NBA history with a triple-double, putting up 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 113–105 win against the Atlanta Hawks, a record that would later be broken by Josh Giddey. On January 30, Ball recorded a then career-high 27 points, along with five rebounds, nine assists, and four steals in a 126–114 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. For his performance in December and January, Ball was awarded with Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month after averaging 12.2 points, 6.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals over his first 21 games in the NBA. On February 1, Ball made the first start of his career in a 129–121 victory over the Miami Heat. He finished the game with 14 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. On February 5, Ball recorded a then career-high 34 points, along with eight assists, four rebounds, two steals, and one block in a 138–121 loss to the Utah Jazz. He also became the youngest player in franchise history to record a 30-point game. He was named Rookie of the Month again for February after averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 13 games. On March 21, Ball suffered a fractured bone in his right wrist in a loss against the Los Angeles Clippers and was listed as out indefinitely. On April 19, Ball was cleared to resume basketball activities. On May 1, Ball made his return from injury, putting up 11 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, in a 107–94 win against the Detroit Pistons. After the season Ball was named the 2020–21 NBA Rookie of the Year and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.