Minnesota Timberwolves guard LaMelo Ball has hired a personal driver, according to his older brother Lonzo Ball, after a string of reckless driving incidents in his former home city of Charlotte. Lonzo revealed the decision during an episode of the "Curious Mike" podcast with Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr, while discussing which Ball sibling spends the most money. The move comes amid scrutiny of LaMelo's driving habits and his history of damaging expensive cars, including a widely publicised incident in which his custom Hummer lost a wheel during a crash over NBA All-Star break.

Lonzo said LaMelo, 25, owns around ten cars and has a tendency to buy vehicles worth up to $1 million only to quickly damage them, adding he has "a lot of situations on the road" even if not outright accidents. He suggested his brother would be better off choosing less exotic cars than the Lamborghinis he has favoured. The Charlotte Hornets drafted LaMelo third overall in 2020, and traded him along with Josh Green to Minnesota in June in exchange for Naz Reid and draft picks. Lonzo, the second overall pick in 2017, has had his own injury-hit career, spending over 1,000 days out at one point, and was recently waived by the Utah Jazz after being traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers.