Arguably the biggest highlight of the Charlotte Hornets' early-season run was their 111-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. As it turns out, however, it might have come at quite a cost for the Hornets considering how hip-hop icon and New York native Jay-Z appeared to have attempted to recruit LaMelo Ball to The Big Apple during the game.

For starters, here's the clip of the two conversing during a dead ball situation. Some lip-readers initially interpreted Jay-Z's message as an open invitation for Ball to play in New York somewhere down the road:

It isn't clear which New York team Jay-Z was referring to, but he was once a part-owner of the Brooklyn Nets, so we all know where his loyalty lies.

The clip has absolutely blown up and has now more than 2 million views on social media. So much so, that the Hornets star himself had to come out to address the rumors. Speaking to ESPN's Malika Andrews of NBA TodayLaMelo made it clear that we're all putting too much stock into nothing:

“I was just saying, ‘We have a game after this and we're going home,'” Ball siad (h/t Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report). “And he was just saying, ‘Where's it at?' And it was in Charlotte. That's how it went.”

There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth. At this point, it's safe to assume that LaMelo Ball is going to be with the Hornets for a long, long time — for now, at least.