The Charlotte Hornets did their best to keep LaMelo Ball on the floor last season. For the most part, it worked: he played in 72 games. That came after three straight seasons when he missed ample time with injury. Charlotte limited his minutes all year, and Ball missed only 10 games.
It was unclear whether the Minnesota Timberwolves would do the same with his minutes this season, and no one answered that during the offseason. So far in his first year with the Wolves, Ball is playing even fewer minutes per game, though that's not intentional. Instead, the context of the Wolves' first five games has dictated his minutes.
LaMelo Ball’s minutes are down even further to start the season
In 2025-26, his sixth NBA season, Ball averaged 28 minutes per game in 72 appearances. This followed four straight years with averages of at least 32. He also averaged only 35 games played over the three seasons from 2022-23 to 2024-25.
In Minnesota’s first five games this year, Ball has averaged 25.4 minutes per contest. Are Chris Finch and the Timberwolves doing their best to limit his playing time to keep him healthy? Not really.
Keep in mind the Timberwolves won their first three games by 20-plus points. Ball averaged 23 minutes in those blowout victories. He left the season opener with 3:51 left, the next game with 8:56 remaining, and played only about 3.5 minutes in the third game's fourth quarter.
In their most recent game on Wednesday, Ball played 28 minutes. He likely would have played more in their first outing without Anthony Edwards, but the team pulled him four minutes into the third quarter after he picked up his fourth foul.
In their fourth game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, nothing seemed to stop Ball from being on the court. He played a season-high 31 minutes. The game also went to overtime, where Ball played all five extra minutes.
Ball should play more with Anthony Edwards out
Over five games, it’s hard to tell how much Finch and the Timberwolves want to play Ball in a normal outing. It looks like they'd want to play him for about as long as Charlotte did last season, but there's not enough evidence to confirm that.
Edwards has missed one game, and more are coming after he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery; that injury will sideline him for roughly two months. The team may ask Ball to play more to offset its steep offensive drop-off. He is the team's most gifted scorer without Edwards, even if Ball hasn’t fully shown his scoring chops since joining the Wolves.
The Timberwolves’ next game is against the 1-3 Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, followed by a game against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. Saturday certainly won't be easy. If it stays close, though, Ball should log a new season-high in minutes.
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