NBA fines Hornets’ LaMelo Ball $100K for ‘derogatory comment’

The NBA fined Hornets star LaMelo Ball $100,000 after he made an anti-gay comment during an interview following Charlotte’s 115-114 upset win over the struggling Bucks at home Saturday.

Ball had been talking about the last play of the game, where Grant Williams successfully defended Giannis Antetokounmpo at the top of the key and forced a contested jumper for the win — which missed off the front of the rim.

“We loaded up,” Ball said, before adding “no homo” while lowering his voice.

The NBA released a statement with their fine Sunday, saying Ball made “an offensive and derogatory comment” postgame.

Ball, who has dealt with injuries throughout his career after taking the Rookie of the Year award, is in the early stages of a career year, averaging 29.6 points, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds through the first 12 games while helping Charlotte collect a 5-7 record.

Since being the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Ball has played in more than 51 games just once during his career, appearing in 75 games during the 2021-22 campaign and earning the lone All-Star Game nod of his career.

Ball logged just 58 combined games across the two years that followed, though, and in 2023-24, he sustained an ankle injury during a January game and missed the rest of the year.

“He’s like the engine for us,” head coach Charles Lee told reporters following their season-opening win on Oct. 23, when Ball scored 34 points and dished out 11 assists. “If we have a healthy LaMelo Ball, we’re going to do a lot of really good things because I know that he’s going to continue to grow and he helps everyone around him continue to be better, too.”

The Hornets face the Cavaliers on Sunday in Cleveland, and they’ll attempt to hand them their first loss of the season.