Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball was fined $35,000 by the NBA for "making an obscene gesture" after giving the middle finger to a referee during his team's loss to the Miami Heat Wednesday (October 29) night.

Ball, 24, showed his frustration after being called for a charge with 4:02 remaining in the game, which the Hornets lost, 144-117, dropping to 2-2 through their first four games of the 2025-26 NBA season. The former All-Star was previously fined $100,000 for what the league deemed an anti-gay remark after he said "we loaded up, no homo," during a postgame interview after a win against the Milwaukee Bucks, officially labeling the remark as "an offensive and derogatory comment," which he later apologized for.

“I really didn’t mean anything (by it) and don’t want to offen

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