LaMelo Ball and Cole Anthony have often been linked over the years coming up in the basketball scene and the two players eventually met on the hard woods.
In fact, this was the first time the two met in any situation.
Ball and his Charlotte Hornets caught Anthony and the Orlando Magic on Thursday, with the third overall pick getting the best of his rookie peers. Ball scored 18 points, five assists and two rebounds while shooting 4-of-9 from a 3-point range during a 123-115 victory over the Magic.
Anthony, the 15th overall pick, scored 13 points, including 11 in the first half on his own, while adding four rebounds and four rebounds. He fired a 4-of-7 from the field, including a 3-of-4 from a 3-point field, in 19 minutes of work off the bench.
The two players have seen each other pretty much over the years playing in the same division but for Anthony, it was fun to see Ball on the court for the first time.
“That boy is good, he’s talented,” Anthony said after the game. “People have been talking about us playing for years now, I’m glad I finally got the chance to meet him. We weren’t the two headliners coming in but it was still fun to be able to get out. It was the first time we also met. ”
Ball and Anthony originally planned to play each other in high school in December 2018, but encouraging conditions regarding Ball’s eligibility after playing professionally led to some teams against canceling their games and the SPIRE Institute.
The game between Ball and Anthony never happened but the two have been friends over the years.
“We’ve been incredibly engaging and have always been a favorite on social media,” Anthony said. “It’s my first time in person so I mean it’s nothing but love for him. He is extremely talented. ”
The pair showed off flashes on the court Thursday, with Ball apparently getting his boot from the depths while Anthony continued to show progress after a preseason “awful” debating game.
As two first-round kicks in the same draft class, Ball and Anthony are sure to have some memorable battles on the court in the years to come. That should make up for it that he hasn’t seen much of each other before.
The Hornets and Magic meet again to make a preseason play Saturday.