LaMelo Ball Shares First Public Message Since NBA Punishment
The NBA fined Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball $35,000 dollars for “making unnecessary and reckless contact” with Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo during an NBA Play-In Tournament game on Tuesday night.
The league ruled that Ball “created a significant injury risk” when he swiped at Adebayo’s league as he fell to the court at the Spectrum Center. Adebayo sustained a lower-back injury as a result of the fall, and was unable to return as the Hornets went on to win with a 127-126 final score in overtime.
Ball was not called for a foul, but the NBA retroactively issued him a Flagrant 2.
During a shoot-around on Friday morning, Ball was asked about the incident for the first time since the league announced his punishment.
“I tried to apologize and everything. Just look out for Bam, mainly make sure he’s OK. We don’t want nobody hurt in this league ever,” Ball said. “As long as he’s good, that helps my mind a little.”
“Whenever I see him, I’ll try to talk to him,” Ball continued when asked if he’s reached out to Adebayo personally. “After the game I tried to talk to him. I was waiting by his locker, talking to the security guard waiting for him. But he said he was in the shower and everything.
“It’s a tough game. You lose, you don’t really like talking to people. So I gave him his space.”
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With their win over the Heat on Tuesday night, Ball and the Hornets kept their season alive and advanced to Friday night’s NBA Play-In Tournament matchup against the Orlando Magic.
The winner of Friday’s Hornets-Magic matchup will claim the final No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, securing a first-round playoff matchup against the No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons.
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Friday’s game will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime Video.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 12:44 PM.