Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball and Davidson alum Steph Curry excelled in the NBA All-Star Game

Basketball fans in Charlotte know how LaMelo Ball can play. But this weekend, the Hornet point guard got the chance to play for fans across the U.S. during the NBA All-Star Game. Ball got 18 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals for Team Durant in Cleveland.

“LaMelo looked like he belonged — that’s about the best thing you can say,” The Charlotte Observer’s Langston Wertz Jr. told WFAE’s Gwendolyn Glenn on this week’s Time Out for Sports. “He was out on the floor at winning time during the All-Star Game. Kenny Smith was calling him ‘a walking All-Star Game,’ which kind of sounds like a nickname… He just looked like he was an all-star, and I think this was the first of many, and I hope he re-signs with the Hornets and stays here a long time.”

Ultimately, Ball’s team lost, but another player with strong Charlotte ties was on the winning side. Golden State’s Steph Curry, who grew up here and used to play for Charlotte Christian and Davidson, broke the 3-point record and was named the game’s MVP.

“Stephen Curry is an alien,” Wertz said about the star’s out-of-this-world plays. “... The old record for 3s in the game was 10. He made 16 — that was just an amazing, amazing performance.”

You can listen to the full Time Out for Sports conversation above. Here’s a quick look at what else Glenn and Wertz covered this week.

• Bubba Wallace, who drives for Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team, came in second at the Daytona 500. But Mooresville native and rookie Austin Cindric won.
• Hornets’ rookie James Bouknight was kicked out of a courtside seat at a UConn basketball game.
• The Hornets continued a losing streak.
• The North Carolina A&T men’s indoor track and field team is No. 1 in the country. 
• The Charlotte 49ers lost one of their football coaches. 
• High school state basketball playoffs start this week.