LaMelo Ball is in some hot water with some of his biggest fans ... who are pissed at the NBA star for cracking up on the Hornets' bench during a blowout loss Monday.
Ball wasn't playing in Charlotte's home tilt against the New York Knicks while dealing with a sore ankle ... so he took a seat with some of his squadmates -- and despite the completely one-sided score, he was seen smiling throughout the contest.
LaMelo Ball & teammates laugh on the bench down 25 as his home arena chants “Let’s go Knicks” pic.twitter.com/wngWUT0JQv
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) January 30, 2024
At one point, when Charlotte was down 25 points early in the fourth quarter ... Ball was actually seen busting at the seams with Bryce McGowens and James Bouknight.
The images pissed off a whole lot of Hornets supporters, who found it downright disrespectful that the team's biggest star didn't appear locked in on the game.
What made it especially worse was "Let's Go Knicks" chants had broken out at the Spectrum Center right around the same time.
The Hornets went on to lose 113-92 ... and their record is now a measly 10-35.
Ball's likely still a few days away from suiting up again -- but it seems his fans might want to hear a bit of a mea culpa before then.