The shot went in but the scoreboard stayed at 0-0, and the reaction was mostly recognition rather than surprise
LaMelo Ball needed two seconds to introduce himself in a Minnesota Timberwolves uniform. The guard rose from the center-court logo Monday night and buried a deep three-pointer. Officials waved it off. The scoreboard stayed at 0-0, and the clock read 11:58. Minnesota went on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 116-97 in its preseason opener at Fiserv Forum.
The erased basket changes nothing in the standings. It still became the first widely shared picture of Ball in his new colors. He arrived in June through a four-team trade that cost Minnesota Naz Reid and significant draft capital. Coach Chris Finch wants a faster, simpler offense around Ball and Anthony Edwards. The shot fit that plan and revived old questions about shot selection and health. Fans online mostly laughed.
The counted portion of his night was quieter and, for Minnesota, more useful.
Two Seconds, One Shot, No Points
The sequence lasted barely longer than the opening tip. Ball, wearing No. 1 in Minnesota blue, gathered the ball near the Bucks’ center-court logo. A Milwaukee defender stood in front of him. Ball rose anyway, well beyond the three-point line. Players on both teams turned to watch the flight. The ball dropped through. The game clock had moved just two seconds from 12:00, and the shot clock showed 23.
No points went up. No official explanation has surfaced, and neither Ball nor Finch has publicly addressed the play. Fans watching described an early whistle and a clock malfunction. The rule itself is plain. A field goal counts only if the ball leaves the shooter’s hands after the clock legally starts. A release that officials disallow produces exactly this result: a deep make the scoreboard never records.
None of it surprised anyone who watched him in Charlotte. The logo pull-up has been part of his game since his rookie year. He launched similar shots last March and April without hesitation. He made 272 threes last season, second most in the league. The Minnesota attempt differed in two ways only. The jersey was new, and the basket did not stand.
What Counted in Milwaukee
The first basket that stood belonged to Jonathan Kuminga. He finished a layup off a LaMelo Ball pick-and-roll pass. Ball then made an open three and set up Anthony Edwards for another. Minnesota led 15-7 early. In the second quarter, Edwards, Ball and Kuminga drove a 12-0 run. Edwards scored 14 first-half points despite making one of seven threes.
Ball finished with 11 points in 17 minutes, shooting 3-of-6 from the field, 2-of-5 from three and 3-of-3 at the line. He added four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Joan Beringer had 12 points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes. Jaden McDaniels scored nine. Rudy Gobert added six points and seven rebounds before the reserves closed out the win.
Finch has made the intended style clear. He said the roster now has “so much depth and guys who are good in the open floor.” He called the faster, simpler look “exciting to watch.” Earlier Minnesota teams tried to push the pace, he said, but “realized we had limitations.” Those teams leaned on size and defense. This one is built to run with two primary creators.
The Price of a Second Creator
LaMelo Ball arrived through a four-team trade agreed to on June 25. Minnesota received Ball and Josh Green from Charlotte. It also landed the No. 33 pick, used on Isaiah Evans, through Brooklyn. Brooklyn received Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick, Joshua Jefferson. Chicago came away with center Nic Claxton.
Charlotte’s haul was large. The Hornets received Reid, a popular rotation big man in Minnesota. They added an unprotected 2033 first-round pick. They gained first-round swap rights in 2028, 2029 and 2030. Second-round picks in 2029, 2032 and 2033 went south as well. So did Mo Gueye and the draft rights to Matteo Spagnolo.
The pursuit was not sudden. Minnesota had chased Ball for about two years before the agreement. The price reflects conviction and risk in equal measure. An unprotected pick seven years away is a wager on a distant future. Three swap years tie the franchise’s draft fortunes to Ball’s performance well beyond this season.
X Recognized the Shot, Not the Surprise
Viewers on X familiar with LaMelo Ball’s game know that the shot is in character and the new uniform does not change the shot selection. A smaller set treated it as shot-chucking, clock ignorance or a bad early sign. A third set was purely rules-focused.
One reply with about 586 likes said, “All they missing is the hornets announcers,” tying the attempt to Charlotte broadcast calls rather than to Minnesota. Another with about 406 likes said the shot meant a rough season was coming. A third with about 182 likes joked about Edwards’ reaction to a teammate pulling from the logo immediately. One user wrote that Ball “wasted ZERO time” and said he was starting right now.
The rules-and-profile reply noted that a logo attempt at 11:58 only counts if the ball is released after the clock starts, and that the attempt fits his profile as a high-volume pull-up shooter since his rookie year. Another reply asked how a referee blows the whistle two seconds into the game. One user said Ball was treating a preseason tip-off like Game 7, “exactly what Minnesota signed up for.” Another said the experiment in Minnesota was going to be fun. A smaller set simply called him a ball hog.
Quote posts largely reused ESPN’s wording rather than adding new reporting. The split that did appear was between “this is the player Minnesota acquired” and “this is the shot selection that made him a difficult fit.”
Talent and the Injury Ledger
LaMelo Ball, 25, was the third pick in 2020 after a season with Illawarra in Australia. The 6-foot-7 guard won Rookie of the Year in 2020-21. He made the All-Star team a year later. Across six seasons he has averaged about 20.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists. He has shot 36.5 percent from 3-point range.
Availability is the other half of the record. A fractured right wrist cost him 20 games as a rookie. Ankle sprains and a fractured right ankle ended his 2022-23 season after 36 games. Ankle and calf problems shortened later years. He missed at least 35 games in four of his first five seasons.
Last season broke the pattern. Ball played 72 games and averaged 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists. Charlotte jumped from 19 wins to 44 and won a Play-In game. It was the franchise’s first postseason victory since 2016. However, Ball still never appeared in a playoff game there. He left with three years remaining on a $203.9 million extension.
Final Thought
A preseason shot that did not count settles nothing. It alters no standings, no contract and no shooting percentage. The stronger evidence came afterward, in an assist, a made 3-pointer and a setup for Edwards. Those plays showed how two creators might share one offense. They also came in just 17 minutes of an exhibition that reserves finished.
The real answers require months. Minnesota must learn whether Ball’s ankles hold through a full schedule. It must learn how the ball moves between him and Edwards in close games. Finch’s faster system needs both stars healthy and willing. The regular season will test whether that logo confidence wins games that count. For now, Minnesota has its first lasting image, and a long season to justify the price.
