Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and while the Charlotte Hornets were close to making the playoffs this season, close doesn’t count in this scenario.
With a win over the Orlando Magic in the NBA Play-In Tournament on Friday night, the Hornets would have punched their ticket and secured the first postseason berth for the franchise in a decade. Instead, they were steamrolled by Orlando and sent home early, again.
LaMelo Ball Suggests Hornets’ Gameplan Didn’t Work Against Magic
To make matters worse, star guard LaMelo Ball publicly questioned the team’s gameplan after the game, suggesting that the team waited too long to put the ball in his hands. Ball finished the game with 23 points, and 21 of them came in the third quarter after the Hornets were already down big.
“I just feel like it was just too late, I should have done it from the jump for real,” Ball said. “We were doing a lot of plays and stuff and getting pushed around and everything. I feel like I should’ve just taken the ball from the beginning.”
You can’t blame Ball for being honest, especially since we always push for honesty from athletes. At the same time though, it’s not the best look for a star player to be publicly questioning the coaching or the gameplan immediately after a tough loss. And tough it was, at least for Ball, who admitted to being stung by the loss.
“Obviously [it] hurt a lot, but I feel like it’s all just learning lessons. You live, you learn, you evolve, and you move on, you know?”
LaMelo Ball’s 2025-26 Campaign Didn’t End on the Highest Note
It’s been an eventful week for Ball, who made headlines for a play in which he tripped and injured Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo during Charlotte’s previous Play-In game. There was some speculation that the trip was intentional, which Ball denied.
“It’s all basketball,” Ball said of the situation. “I feel like Bam knows. We never had nothing going on, you know what I’m saying? I never had really [anything with] anybody. Go out there and play basketball. Even [on] the one before, I [saw] him, try to foul him, stuff like that. … 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.”
It will be an interesting offseason for Ball, who was the subject of some serious trade speculation during the season. Obviously nothing ever came to fruition, but it wouldn’t be surprising if such speculation resurfaced over the offseason.
Ball has now played six seasons in Charlotte, and he has yet to play in a single playoff game. The team’s lack of success isn’t all on Ball, but as the star player he’s expected to driving winning, and so far he simply hasn’t done that in Charlotte. As a result, it wouldn’t be the craziest thing in the world if the Hornets thought about moving on.
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