Charlotte Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball is a pretty cool cucumber on the basketball court. This is exactly why it's a bit odd that he was hit with a technical foul during Tuesday's matchup against the Denver Nuggets — especially once you see the contentious nature of the call.
After drawing a foul on a drive to the hoop, Ball was whistled for a tech for what seems to be unwarranted physical contact with the game official (h/t ClutchPoints on Twitter):
LaMelo Ball got hit with a technical foul for moving the referee's arm. 🤔
The ref caught Ball, but also made contact with the right wrist Ball fractured earlier this season.pic.twitter.com/gDKoZ4cDxD
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 12, 2021
The referee clearly took exception to the Rookie of the Year frontrunner taking the game official's arm off of him. It looks like the ref was trying to prevent Ball from falling (somewhat?), and LaMelo forcefully removed his arm. The game official did not like how much force Ball put on his nudge, which is probably why he thought the Hornets rookie deserved a technical foul.
You could clearly see in the replay that Ball was also favoring his right wrist after the play. This was the same hand that had to undergo surgery a couple of weeks back. It also looks like the ref made contact with the surgically repaired wrist.
Whatever the case may be this is definitely one of the oddest technical fouls we've seen this season.
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