If you thought there’d be no news in Charlotte Hornets land because of the all star break, you’d be sorely mistaken. On the last day of the break, LaMelo Ball got himself involved in a car crash in the middle of uptown Charlotte.
BREAKING: LaMelo Ball involved in crash in Uptown Charlotte.
Photos provided to me show LaMelo getting out of the driver's seat. But CMPD hasn't said who was driving and how this crash happened. Another car was involved. Medic says one person has minor injuries. We don't know… pic.twitter.com/oTLSqTwE9B
— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) February 18, 2026
Even if people didn’t see LaMelo get out of the car, it’s pretty obvious who this car belongs to. WSOC was able to get dash cam footage of the incident as well.
It’s hard to tell what exactly happened with this angle, but it certainly looks like the other car involved is driving straight in their own lane. I don’t know how two cars traveling straight in opposite directions get in a wreck, but here we are.
This isn’t exactly shocking news for anyone that lives in the Charlotte area or has followed the Hornets closely for a while. LaMelo and the Hornets were sued back in 2024 for an incident a few months prior where Ball ran over a kid’s foot while the kid was approaching him to try and get an autograph. Beyond that, LaMelo is a notoriously reckless driver around the uptown Charlotte area, and he’s impossible to miss with how flashy and over the top his vehicles are. He’s frequently been caught rolling through red lights, speeding, and otherwise being reckless.
This was bound to happen at some point. Fortunately it seems no one was severely hurt. Ball is apparently totally fine, which isn’t surprising given that he was basically driving a tank. There was one person treated for minor injuries at the scene. I’d be surprised if this is the last we hear about this incident though. Given the status of LaMelo and the Hornets and it seemingly being his fault, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lawsuit comes through sometime in the next few months.
LaMelo has seemingly matured as a basketball player on the floor this season. His off court decision making looks like it still could use some work. Hopefully this incident is a learning experience and not something that an exorbitantly wealthy NBA player shrugs off as a minor inconvenience.