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James Plowright: Jeff Peterson on LaMelo Ball's season "I'm so proud of him, playing 72 games... It is because of him, he put the work in. Of course our medical team/coaching staff helped, but this past summer he put the work in... it's not by accident, he put the work in... Defensively I thought his effort on that side of the floor was more intense and sustained. Offensively, there's not much he can't do... He's still relatively young in the league, he's an enormous talent."
Lonzo Ball: Nick Wright a bum! 🤡
Rod Boone: Pat Connaughton very introspective when I asked him about the season: "No one is excited to see the Charlotte Hornets on their schedule anymore." And LaMelo Ball: "His genuine desire to win and want to win is real."
Fullcourtpass: LaMelo Ball says the Hornets were running too many plays after losing to the Magic: “I feel like we were running a lot of plays and getting pushed around. I should’ve just took the ball from the beginning.” (h/t @Meloleague)
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Yet in the end, the star guard remains optimistic about the lessons they learned after coming up short in making it to the NBA Playoffs. "Obviously, it hurt a lot, but I feel like it’s all just learning lessons," Ball told reporters after the Hornets were manhandled by the Orlando Magic with a 120-91 loss in Friday's Play-In Tournament. "You live, you learn, you evolve, and you move on."
Despite the Play-In loss extending their record for having the NBA's active longest playoff drought, Ball can't be more excited about what the future holds for him and the Hornets. "It was better than the previous season, so that’s good. But still not making the playoffs hurt," Ball said. "Still, we did better than the years before, so like I said, we’re just trying to evolve. "Hopefully next year, no Play-In."
MrBuckBuck: Draymond Greebln says LaMelo Ball doesn’t deserve a suspension since Sabonis wasn’t suspended for grabbing his ankle. “We saw the same thing when Sabonis grabbed my ankle and nothing happened.”
Draymond Greebln says LaMelo Ball doesn’t deserve a suspension since Sabonis wasn’t suspended for grabbing his ankle.
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 17, 2026
“We saw the same thing when Sabonis grabbed my ankle and nothing happened.”pic.twitter.com/Xnz0Bpfade
Draymond Green on Bam Adebayo, LaMelo Ball incident: Before Bam exit that game, he was working Diabte… if Bam Adebayo doesn’t get hurt, LaMelo Ball don’t get fined. Let’s take it a step farther, I’m happy they didn’t suspend LaMelo for a game because you can’t suspend him just because he got hurt. We saw the same thing when Domantas Sabonis grabbed my ankle and nothing happened. You can’t have it both ways. Was it an intentional trip? To me, he grabbed and pulled him. Yes it was an intentional trip. Was he intentionally trying to hurt him? No. I don’t think LaMelo is thinking ‘I’m bout to grab Bam ankle, he’s gonna fall on his ass and hurt his back.’
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While the Hornets' playoff stay isn't likely to last as long -- Charlotte needs to win Friday just to set up a first-round meeting with the top-seeded Detroit Pistons -- Ball entering the playoffs with two flagrant points would have at least given heft to the belated punishment. Instead, the decision felt fairly hollow. And in asking sources around the league Wednesday ahead of the NBA's announcement that Ball wouldn't be suspended, opinions were mixed. Some argued that a hefty fine would suffice, because you shouldn't retroactively remove him from the next game because of Adebayo's unfortunate injury. Others argued the opposite, saying he should have to sit out Friday's win-and-in showdown.
Tim Reynolds: LaMelo Ball made an effort to see Bam Adebayo after Tuesday’s game. They didn’t connect. Bam made reference today to how “by that time I was in the shower trying to figure out what I was going to do next.” He expects the talk will happen at some point.
Heat Central: Bam Adebayo says LaMelo Ball has not apologized to him yet: “It didn’t happen… I want It to be out there. At some point I’ll see him again and we’ll have that conversation”
Heat Central: Bam Adebayo on LaMelo Ball injuring him: “I think LaMelo will see it as just another game. He makes like $30Ms a year. The 60 he’s not even gonna see… nobody is going to really know the truth but LaMelo if it was dirty or not”
