Hornets' LaMelo Ball fined $100,000 for 'offensive, derogatory comments'
11/17/2024 03:40 PM
After a tightly contested 115-114 win at home over the Milwaukee Bucks, the headline from the game isn’t about LaMelo Ball’s strong game or his team’s big win. Instead, what takes the spotlight is the NBA handing down a $100,000 fine to Ball after he used offensive and derogatory language in a postgame interview, per insider Shams Charania.
“On the last play, when we took the shot? Yeah, we loaded up–no h***–but that’s what we wanted.”
LaMelo Ball has been fined $100,000 for offensive and derogatory language during his postgame interview, the NBA says.
Ball's comments came after the Hornets' 115-114 win over the Bucks. pic.twitter.com/JV1RYBRMP5
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 17, 2024
This is far from the first time an NBA player has been fined for making this particular anti-gay remark. Nets guard Cam Thomas was fined $40K in February 2023. Nikola Jokic was fined $25K for using the term in November 2018.
Hornets show flashes of improvement
Expectations aren’t that high for the Charlotte Hornets in 2024-25. Coming off a 21-61 season, there’s only so much improvement that can happen year to year. But there are moments, like Saturday’s win over the Bucks, where the team steps up to make a statement. Ball had 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists. And although Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double, he was limited to just 22 points, tying his lowest point total of the season.
Josh Green complimented teammate Grant Williams for his job in putting in work on defense against Giannis.
"I think Grant really took this challenge head-on in guarding one of the greatest players in the game. Grant did a great job and I think guys really bought into the assignment in having Grant’s back. It was great individual defense by Grant and our goal was to be able to help him. It was real cool to see the team take on the challenge."
Hornets head coach Charles Lee echoed the sentiment to praise Williams’ defensive performance.
"I thought on that last play, Grant (Williams), who all game was the primary defender on Antetokounmpo, did a really good job," Lee said. "He kept him in front, understood his tendencies. I thought all the guys around him understood how to kind of fake and fade and make it seem like there was a crowd there, make it seem like we were going to come help. He settled for a jumper and I thought we had a great contest, and we finished it with a deflection out of bounds."
The Hornets are on a short two-game road trip, with games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets over the next three days. At 5-7, they are fourth in the Southeast division and eighth in the Eastern Conference.
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