LaMelo Ball isn’t a child anymore. This was the justification used to hand-wave away Ball’s careless, stupid, reckless driving when he first entered the NBA, but now he’s the 24-year-old leader of the Charlotte Hornets and there’s no room for excuses. Ball is behaving like an asshole, and this was capped off Thursday night when the point guard refused to take questions from the media about his latest car accident.
Ball was behind the wheel of his custom Hummer this week when he swerved into oncoming traffic in the middle of uptown Charlotte, before hitting another vehicle and coming to a stop. Nobody was injured in the incident, thankfully, but that doesn’t mean it was okay, especially after seeing video of the speed at which the crash occurred.
This is not an isolated incident. Melo’s reckless driving has been well-documented ever since he entered the NBA. Routinely peeling out of the player parking lot at a high rate of speed in an array of exotic cars, Ball has been filmed coming close to cutting off other motorists, sideswiping fans, running red lights, and effectively being a danger to himself and others.
Ball was asked about the crash after Thursday night’s game and immediately got up and left the podium:
In 2024, the family of an 11-year-old needed police intervention to get insurance information from Ball after he sped out of the Spectrum Center and allegely ran over the boy’s foot while he was seeking an autograph. It led to the family filing a lawsuit against LaMelo to seek reimbursement for medical bills, with’s Ball’s lawyers arguing it was the child’s fault for getting too close to the vehicle — and asserting that the family should pay LaMelo’s legal fees as a result. That case is still ongoing, with the next court date scheduled for May 11, 2026.
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Regardless of whether or not a court finds that the injury to the autograph-seeking child was really Ball’s fault or not, this latest wreck is just another chapter in an established pattern of dangerous driving by the player. It also happens at the worst possible time for a Hornets organization, which is finally showing signs of life, playing the best basketball the team has in over a decade, and legitimately looks like a dangerous team if they can close out the regular season and find a way into the playoffs. At a time when every ounce of focus from players should be on basketball, Ball has brought in a massive distraction.
Seeing a star player for the Hornets get into a wreck also opens old wounds for the organization, fans, and the city of Charlotte. January 12, 2000 was the day that Bobby Phills died. The shooting guard for the Charlotte Hornets and the team leader at the time, Phills embodied the ultimate underdog story as he failed in the NBA, went to Europe, then returned to Charlotte in 1997 to become one of the best dogged on-ball defenders of his time.
A player always hailed for doing things “the right way” and giving back to the community, all it took was one horrible lapse in judgment to end his life. In the early hours of January 12, Phills was goofing around on the road with teammate David Wesley in their sports cars, when Phills lost control of his Porsche going over 100 mph. He struck two vehicles, and was pronounced dead on the scene, with the other drivers lucky to only have sustained minor injuries.
It was a loss that did immeasurable damage, not only for a city that mourned an athlete, but for the Charlotte Hornets organization. The 30-year-old’s role as the veteran leader of the team at the time was to nurture and help develop a young Ricky Davis, whom the Hornets took with an eye towards him being the future of the organization alongside Baron Davis. Ricky Davis regressed without Phills being a steadying force; he was traded, the team fell apart, and relocated to New Orleans following the 2001-02 season. It’s not that Phills’ death directly led to the team moving, but there is an alternate, unrealized timeline where the Hornets of that era reach their potential, return to their early-90s zenith, which gives way to the organization getting a new arena deal, and staying in Charlotte.
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That’s a footnote to this, but underscores the inexorable link between traffic accidents and the Charlotte Hornets, and why it was triggering for older fans to see Ball driving recklessly even before this latest incident. Every single player on the Hornets knows the story of Bobby Phills. They see his jersey in the rafters of every home game. His cautionary tale is preached to every rookie upon arriving, and constant reminders remain in the community of his legacy.
LaMelo Ball has grown significantly on the court this season, evolving from a shoot-first point guard who tried to do everything himself to becoming a willing piece in a larger puzzle that has led to immense success. Now he needs to grow the hell up off the court. The dangerous driving isn’t just an aside, or a punchline anymore — and he needs to realize that. Too much is at stake, not in basketball, but for his life. Far too many times fate has smiled on him while he careens out of the arena like Mr. Toad, and this latest accident needs to be the final wake up call for a 24-year-old who somehow still doesn’t get it when he’s on the road.
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