Hornets’ Charles Lee drops brutally honest 3-word take on scary LaMelo Ball collision

Early on during what would eventually be a 102-95 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans for a Charlotte Hornets team that’s been on the upswing over the past month or so, a scary moment unfolded when LaMelo Ball, trying to pull off a hustle play by saving the ball from going out of bounds, collided with head coach Charles Lee along the sidelines.

Hornets HC Charles Lee runs into LaMelo Ball on a loose ball and now LaMelo is headed to the locker roompic.twitter.com/xhzB26a6Qk

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) February 2, 2026

It wasn’t exactly clear what Lee was doing, as the ball looked like it had a chance to remain in play with Ball getting to it before it bounced out of bounds. He tried to prevent it from ricocheting towards the advertisement board, but that did not seem necessary at all. And after the game, the Hornets head coach called himself out for getting in the way of what would have been a good play from his star point guard.

“Melo just continuing to compete. I took a play off. … Credit to him,” Lee said with a laugh, via Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “I apologized obviously.”

“Stupid a** coach.”

Charles Lee walked into the interview room and joked to keep it short because he had a headache.

"Stupid ass coach," he said.

Asked him what happened. He said it was his fault and credited LaMelo with trying to keep the ball in play: pic.twitter.com/F4oewlmQr4

— Rod Boone (@rodboone) February 2, 2026

All’s well that ends well; Ball did not suffer any lingering effects of his head-on clash with his head coach, and he ended up playing 30 minutes on the night, finishing with 24 points, five rebounds, and eight assists.

Hornets continue their buzzing ascent

The Hornets’ 23-28 record does not indicate at all just how well they’ve been playing as of late. The offense did not flow as well on Monday as it has been over the past few weeks, but they locked in on the defensive end when it mattered — holding the Pelicans to just 13 points in the fourth to finish off the comeback.

They are building a winning culture over there in Charlotte, and Lee deserves plenty of credit for maximizing the talent he has at his disposal.

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