LaMelo Ball was free to suit up Friday against the Orlando Magic after the NBA fined him $35,000 but stopped short of suspending him for the trip that sent Bam Adebayo crashing to the floor in Miami.
Ball tripped Adebayo early in the second quarter of the Charlotte Hornets' overtime play-in win over the Miami Heat, and Adebayo stayed down through two scoring possessions before being helped off with a lower back injury. The league reviewed the play after the game, upgraded it to a flagrant foul 2, and separately fined Ball another $25,000 for profanity during his on-court interview.
That is why the immediate answer to the question is lamelo ball playing tonight was yes. With no suspension issued, the discipline left Ball available for the Hornets' next game and kept the punishment to fines alone, even as the incident remained a talking point in the wake of the play-in win.
Draymond Green said he was happy the NBA did not suspend Ball for a game, and said the trip on Adebayo was intentional. He also argued Ball was not trying to injure anyone, drawing a comparison to his own experience with Domantas Sabonis and saying league discipline should be consistent. Green said, in effect, that a player should not be suspended simply because an opponent was hurt, and he pointed to the different treatment he believes his own situation received.
The discussion grew louder when a clip from a January 2024 Heat-Hornets game resurfaced online showing Ball grabbing at Adebayo's leg while Adebayo was already on the floor. That old clip did not change the league's ruling on this play, but it added another layer to a moment that already drew a flagrant-2 review, a pair of fines and no ban that would have kept Ball out on Friday.
