LaMelo shines on opening night, Giddey starts

Any concerns about LaMelo Ball’s outside shooting were put to bed during the Charlotte Hornets season opener on Thursday.

The NBL20 Rookie of the Year connected on seven three-pointers as he amassed 31 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals in the Hornets’ 123-122 win over Indiana.

Ball’s strong season with the Illawarra Hawks in NBL20 led to him being selected with the third pick in the 2020 draft by the Hornets. He won last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year and is poised to take another leap to superstardom.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/MELOD1P?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MELOD1P</a> GETS ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AllFly?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AllFly</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/HornetsOnBally?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HornetsOnBally</a> <a href="https://t.co/xdCdwOeRvv">pic.twitter.com/xdCdwOeRvv</a></p>&mdash; Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) <a href="https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1450967543418691585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Another former NBL player, Torrey Craig, added five points and eight rebounds in the Pacers’ loss.

Josh Giddey started for the Oklahoma City Thunder in his long-awaited NBA debut.

While the NBL21 Rookie of the Year recorded just four points, his 10 rebounds set a record for most rebounds by a Thunder player in their NBA debut. He is also the first Australian ever to lead his team in rebounding in their debut game in the NBA.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Plenty more buckets to come <a href="https://twitter.com/joshgiddey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@joshgiddey</a> ?<br><br>Giddey gets on the board with a little runner for his first points for the <a href="https://twitter.com/okcthunder?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@okcthunder</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLxNBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLxNBA</a> <a href="https://t.co/dWsYeywHhb">pic.twitter.com/dWsYeywHhb</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1450997974780178433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Giddey’s Thunder fell to Joe Ingles’ Utah Jazz, 107-86. Ingles scored 14 points in the win.

In San Antonio, NBL21 Grand Final MVP Jock Landale made his NBA debut for the Spurs in their 123-97 win over Orlando.

Landale played four minutes and scored a point as he begins his NBA journey.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gotta appreciate the milestones. Moment to remember! First official minutes as an NBA player ??</p>&mdash; Jock Landale (@JockLandale) <a href="https://twitter.com/JockLandale/status/1451036619415425026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">File this under the &quot;things we love to see&quot; folder ???<a href="https://twitter.com/JockLandale?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JockLandale</a> checking in for the <a href="https://twitter.com/spurs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@spurs</a> and registering his first point.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLxNBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLxNBA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnitedHQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelbUnitedHQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/lbiT50rbRf">pic.twitter.com/lbiT50rbRf</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1451019536963043329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Former NBL Next Star RJ Hampton had six points and seven rebounds for the Magic.

Former Sydney King Jae’Sean Tate had two points and three rebounds for the Houston Rockets in their loss to Minnesota.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">RJ got PACE! ?‍??? <br><br>Our Next Star getting on the board for the <a href="https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OrlandoMagic</a> on his first <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA75?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA75</a> gameday.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNBREAKABLE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNBREAKABLE</a> <a href="https://t.co/Bd6zgFhFWO">pic.twitter.com/Bd6zgFhFWO</a></p>&mdash; Sky Sport Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1451002493337432070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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