LaMelo Ball traded: Relive his biggest moments with the Charlotte Hornets

Before LaMelo headed to Minnesota, he spent five years as the face of the Hornets — and one of the most visible figures uptown. Here are the moments that defined his Charlotte run.

The $260 million commitment

In July 2023, Ball signed the richest contract in Hornets history, a five-year max rookie extension worth up to $260 million. “The decision, it wasn’t really hard,” he said. “All my years here I’ve had a good time.”

The uptown Hummer crash

In February, Ball’s camo Hummer collided with a silver sedan in the middle of Trade and Tryon. A wheel fell off his car. Ball wasn’t injured, and a crowd of 50 to 100 people gathered at the intersection.

The exotic garage

Ball’s collection includes a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, a Lamborghini Gallardo and a Mercedes-Benz AMG G63 — plus, per teammate Brandon Miller, a Ferrari. “It’s just cool to have,” Ball told The Observer.

Puma kicks and a five-dog crew

He built his own Puma shoe line, kept a row of his signature pairs in his locker that rivaled an I-77 traffic jam, and owns two Shar Peis, two North American Mastiffs and a Great Dane.

The All-NBA case

This season Ball drained 272 3-pointers (second in the NBA), averaged 7.1 assists and helped push Charlotte from 19 wins to 44. “It’s a no-brainer,” teammate Moussa Diabate said.

The Bam Adebayo flagrant

In April, the NBA fined Ball $35,000 for a Flagrant 2 foul on Miami’s Bam Adebayo, plus $25,000 for profane language during a postgame TV interview.

The fan foot lawsuit

Ball settled a lawsuit from Angell Joseph, who was 12 when he said Ball ran over his foot outside Spectrum Center after a 2023 scrimmage.

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists. To learn more about how The Charlotte Observer is using AI in our newsroom, see our policy here.