Everything he touched turned to gold during that clash with Cairns, mustering 32 points, 13 assists and 11 rounds to become the youngest ever NBL player to post a triple-double and guide the hosts to a memorable over-time win.

Ball's former Illawarra teammate Daniel Grida had an up-close view that night and remembers it fondly.

"That game was insane, that was my favourite game of his from the NBL. And he got us a win too which was great," the Hawks guard said.

"I had no idea he got it [triple-double] until after the game. I knew he had a pretty good game, I found how many points he had on the night but I couldn't see his other stats. But I had a feeling he was pretty close. But, of course when you're on the court or on the bench, you don't hear the commentators counting down every stat.

"But the buzz was there that night and the feeling he was doing something special was there as well."

Fast-forward to January 2020 and Ball isn't done grabbing the spotlight. On Saturday night, the teen became the youngest NBA player to record a triple-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists as his Charlotte Hornets beat Atlanta Hawks.

The 19-year-old replaced Markelle Fultz as the youngest NBA player to achieve the feat by 177 days.

Ball had come close to achieving a triple-double in the Hornets' win on Friday night over the Pelicans, mustering 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

"I was watching that game and hoping he would throw one more. But it's awesome to hear that he got one [triple-double]," Grida said.

"He's a super exciting talent. He's insanely gifted with the ball, the things that he can do are amazing. It's been a lot of fun watching him in the NBA this year, I've been keeping up with his stats and how the Hornets are going.

"LaMelo's a super kid for getting guys the ball exactly where they want it and yeah, he looks like he's doing a great job with that for the Hornets this year."

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Back home, Grida himself is hoping to light up for the Hawks in their upcoming NBL campaign.

The impact of COVID-19 has wreaked havoc for the team's preparation, who recently relocated to Albury due to Sydney's Northern Beaches cluster.

They were expected to move to Tasmania in the new year, but the Hawks have now arrived in Cairns as they get ready for their first clash with the Bullets this Saturday.

"It's been a really tough couple of weeks, but the boys are getting through it. It's been a bit of a boot camp for us but we've handled it well," Grida, 22, said. "We've got stronger in the gym and we're honing our skills every day on the court. So it's been a good trip for us, especially team bonding wise because we're eating every meal together and pretty much living together full-time.

"But we are humming to get on the court again, that will be super exciting."