Bam Adebayo Says LaMelo Ball Never Apologized After Injury

Hornets guard LaMelo Ball and Heat center Bam Adebayo have not hashed out the incident during their play-in battle.

Bam Adebayo Says LaMelo Ball Never Apologized After Injury

Bam Adebayo and LaMelo Ball (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • Bam Adebayo stated that LaMelo Ball never checked on him after the injury incident during the play-in game.
  • The NBA fined LaMelo Ball $35,000 for tripping Adebayo, labeling the action as Flagrant.
  • Adebayo criticized the NBA's officiating for not reviewing the play that led to his injury during the game.

Bam Adebayo and LaMelo Ball are tangled together in a conversation not about their basketball abilities, but rather about the incident that took place in their play-in game.

After his shot was blocked, the Charlotte Hornets guard inadvertently tripped Adebayo, and since then, fans and the media have labeled him a ‘dirty player.’

Most believe that using his hand to intentionally trip someone, who ended up being in enough pain that he could not continue in the game, is enough to warrant a suspension.

Some analysts took it a bit too far, enough to draw reactions from his father, LaVar Ball, and his older brother Lonzo Ball. But did not slow down criticism against the mercurial point guard.

In the midst of all this, reporters after that game asked the Hornets star whether he would apologize to Adebayo for the incident. At the time, he stated that he would check in on the Heat center.

It didn’t happen… At some point, I’ll see him again, and we’ll have that conversation.

Bam Adebayo told reporters

This was the reply from someone holding the league’s second-most points scored in a game record when asked if Ball had checked in on him.

But Bam Adebayo made it clear that he was possibly in the shower when Ball came to the Heat locker room. That is why he did not stress about it and mentioned that he would hash it out whenever they cross paths next.

Bam Adebayo questions NBA’s officiating and rules after LaMelo Ball tripping him goes unchecked

While continuing to field questions about the incident, Bam Adebayo then talked about how the officials did not even review the play that left him injured.

Bam Adebayo suffered a back injury in that game
Adebayo suffered a back injury in that game (Image via Bleacher Report/X)

It doesn’t make sense that three or four plays can go by, and you can review a three-point shot. But you can’t review a hostile act?… He makes what, $30 Ms a year? The 60K fine he’s not going to see… Nobody is going to know the truth but LaMelo if it was dirty or not.

Adebayo said

The 28-year-old felt that the officials could have checked during the game and assessed an appropriate punishment. Instead, the entire league had to wait a full day to know about the measly fine Ball faced.

He did stress that it was time to move on, as people will have countless opinions on who was right or wrong. But at the same time hoped the officiating system would have looked into it while the game was still in session.

He might be suggesting that reprimanding LaMelo Ball in-game would have probably changed the outcome. After all, he was still playing to his best late in the session when he scored the game-winner.

LaMelo Ball hit with $35K fine for tripping Bam Adebayo

This season, the Charlotte Hornets are paying LaMelo Ball nearly $38 million. That is why Bam Adebayo said that the fine the NBA has levied on the young guard will not be enough to send the message across.

The NBA is fining Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball $35,000 for his trip of Miami’s Bam Adebayo and upgrading the action to a Flagrant, plus fining him $25,000 for cursing postgame, sources tell ESPN. $60K in fines, Flagrant. No suspension.

Shams Charania revealed

The Heat center believed it was $60K. However, $25,000 was given because he cursed during the postgame interview. That means the league only felt that $35,000 was enough to reprimand LaMelo Ball for intentionally tripping and injuring another player.

Maybe Adebayo was hinting that the amount should be much higher. Otherwise, players will not feel the pinch that these fines are supposed to leave on their pockets.

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