LaMelo Ball sparked backlash during Tuesday’s play-in tournament game with a dirty move that he pulled.
Ball and the Charlotte Hornets hosted the Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat for the Eastern Conference’s 9/10 play-in game. In the second quarter at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., Ball was driving to the basket when he had his shot blocked by Miami’s Simone Fontecchio.
Adebayo was also in the area to contest the shot, and Ball appeared to pull Adebayo down as he himself was hitting the floor. As a result, Adebayo landed hard on his tailbone and had to leave the game.
Here is the video.
Bam Adebayo headed to the locker room after landing on his tailbone
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) April 15, 2026
Looks like LaMelo Ball pulled him to the ground pic.twitter.com/UP8nAo4mT5
While Ball was already toppling to the ground at the time, it appeared that he made a separate motion of grabbing at Adebayo’s ankle with his left hand, causing Adebayo to take the spill. No whistle was blown on the play though, meaning that the entire sequence was not reviewable for a possible flagrant foul.
Adebayo was diagnosed with a lower back injury by Miami and deemed questionable to return to Tuesday’s game. Meanwhile, Ball is not quite known as a dirty player but has not done his reputation any favors with some of his behavior off the court in recent months.
