Lonzo Ball is expected to remain on the sidelines for the 2023-24 NBA season. But despite the injury designation, the Chicago Bulls guard appears to be trending positively toward a return.
Ball has not played in an NBA game since January 14, 2022. The 25-year-old has undergone three different knee surgeries but has yet to make any major strides toward a full recovery.
The third time appears to be the charm for Ball, who opened up about his vastly improved recovery process while visiting Bulls training camp earlier this week.
“After the other surgeries, this one has definitely gone the best as far as [the] recovery process,” Ball said, via ESPN’s Jamal Collier. “The last two rehab processes I had, I was getting better and then it just hit a standstill and it started going down. And I haven’t hit that yet.”
Despite the improving circumstances, Ball has yet to resume training that involves picking up a basketball. He says the process being as much a mental battle as a physical one. If Ball sticks to his projected return in the 2024-25 season, it would mean over a thousand days away from NBA action.
Just a few weeks prior to training camp, Ball declared that he would surely play again in the future. His current progress appears to be lining up with his expectations thus far.
