Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball has been fined $100,000 for an “offensive and derogatory comment” he made during an on-court interview after the Hornets’ 115-114 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. This is the first fine of Ball’s career outside of the standard $2,000 fine that comes with any technical foul.
The NBA announced the fine on Sunday, which is the maximum amount it can hand out for conduct or statements under the current collective bargaining agreement. After Ball was asked about how the team was defending Giannis Antetokounmpo on the last play of the game at the Spectrum Center, he said “we loaded up, no homo. That’s what we wanted, put a hand up and then live with the results.”
Ball, 23, had a team-high 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the win for the Hornets; he is averaging a career-high 29.6 points and 6.3 assists per game this season. Ball, in his fifth year with Charlotte, played in just 22 games last season due to an ankle injury.
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