Lonzo Ball has not played a game in the NBA since January 14, 2020. Despite over 500 days off the court, the Chicago Bulls guard still has a long road ahead of him before he can return.
Ball underwent a cartilage transplant in March — his third knee surgery over the past 2 years — that initially cast doubt on his availability for next season. He confirmed that he expects to miss the entire 2023-24 campaign during a recent appearance on the “From the Point” podcast by Trae Young.” Ball also shared his thoughts as the injury woes began to unravel.
“When I first got hurt, we didn’t really know what it was. I was seeing all type of different doctors and stuff. I was kind of just going up and down. And that was really hard for me, because I didn’t know what the next day was going to be like,” said Ball.
Damn, Lonzo Ball confirmed he'll be out for the rest of the 2023-2024 NBA season pic.twitter.com/uPGbAI13FO
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) August 21, 2023
Ball also expressed regret over not being able to play for the Bulls, who he felt built a “perfect team” for his skill set. Chicago held a 27-13 record and was first in the Eastern Conference after Ball played his last game. The Bulls went 19-23 the rest of the way and lost 4-1 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2022 postseason. They missed the playoffs entirely last season.
The good news is that Ball appears optimistic about the plan set forth by his doctors. Another missed season would put him close to a thousand days off the NBA floor. But Ball is still just 25 years old and has a lot of basketball years left in him should he be able to make a full recovery.
Ball averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per contest in 35 games played with the Bulls.
