Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball got a technical in Tuesday’s game and it might be the least glamorous foul ever.
Whenever Ball makes waves in the league, it’s usually hype for his Rookie of the Year performances. He’s been playing so well for Charlotte lately that it’s hard to believe he’s only 19. So when Ball got called for a technical foul against the Denver Nuggets, most fans were scratching their heads. What did the kid do?
After drawing a foul on a drive to the rim, Ball was whistled for what seems to be excessive physical contact with a referee. Watch the video and judge for yourself:
It seems like after Ball’s layup attempt, he stumbled into the game official who held out his arm to stop Ball from falling. In response, Ball roughly pushes the referee’s arm away, which the referee mistook as excessive force…maybe? It’s very unclear.
Either way, the referees thought Ball deserved the technical, and MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic scores one to extend the Nuggets lead in the third quarter.
LaMelo Ball won’t be proud of his technical foul…on a referee
Denver went on to win the game against the Hornets, who currently sit eighth in the Eastern Conference. Ball, perhaps jolted by that incident, recorded just five points in the game along with 12 rebounds and seven assists. Five Hornets players recorded double-digit points, but it wasn’t enough to stop Jokic and company.
The Hornets’ final three season games are against the Clippers, Knicks, and Wizards, which will be must-win games if they want to secure the best seeds in the play-in format. Barring any other technicals, Ball will be looking forward to play some entertaining basketball and never commit an embarrassing foul like that again.