LaMelo Ball Talks Tripping Bam Adebayo and Says He'll Contact Heat Star, 'It's All Basketball'

Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball discussed tripping Bam Adebayo, which resulted in an injury to the Miami Heat center, during Charlotte's play-in tournament victory over Miami on Tuesday.

"I'm kind of worried about this game today," Ball said Friday, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "But like I said, I try to apologize and everything. Just look out for Bam. Mainly just make sure he's OK. We don't want nobody hurt in this league ever. So as long as he's good, it's helped [ease] my mind a little."

Ball also said that he plans to contact Adebayo.

"Whenever I see him, [I will] try to talk to him," Ball said, via Youngmisuk. "After the game, I tried to talk to him. I was waiting by his locker room and just talking to the security guard waiting for him. But he said he was in the shower, and it's a tough game. I mean, you lose, you don't really like talking to people. So I just gave him his space pretty much and he said he'd get with me. There was a lot going on."

Adebayo told reporters Thursday that he hadn't talked to Ball yet and "at some point I'll see him again and we'll have that conversation."

In the second quarter of Tuesday's contest, Adebayo fell out of bounds and suffered a back injury after he was tripped by Ball. The three-time All-Star played just 11 minutes before his exit.

Ball was later assessed a Flagrant 2 foul for the play and fined $35,000 by the NBA.

He wasn't ejected from the game at the time, playing 40 minutes and helping the Hornets secure a 127-126 win over the Heat in overtime. Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists while shooting 12-of-31 from the field.

He issued an apology for the play when speaking to reporters after the win.

"I apologize on that one," Ball said. "I got hit in the head, didn't really know where I was, but I'mma check on him and see if he's okay and everything."

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said that he believed Ball should've been ejected for his actions at his press conference following the loss.

"I don't think it's cute. I don't think it's funny. I think it's a stupid play," Spoelstra said. "It's a dangerous play… That's a shame. He should be penalized for that. I don't think that belongs in the game, tripping guys... He should've been thrown out of the game for that."

The Hornets kept their season alive with the win, while Miami's 2025-26 campaign officially came to an end. Charlotte will now face off against the Orlando Magic on Friday night for an opportunity to clinch the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.