“Definitely gone the best”: Lonzo Ball confident of resuming Bulls’ career after latest surgery for lingering knee issue

It’s nearly two years since Lonzo Ball played an NBA game. After sustaining a knee injury against the Golden State Warriors on January 14, 2022, the Chicago Bulls star has had three surgeries. While several NBA pundits have shown little hope from Ball, he seems entirely hopeful that he will again play for the Bulls.

The number two pick from the 2017 Draft hasn’t picked up the ball yet. Lonzo told ESPN that the recovery process has been going exceptionally well now, and despite slow progress, he has high hopes about resuming his career in the NBA.

The UCLA draft revealed that the recovery in the first two surgeries had been going fine, but it hit a standstill and then worsened. However, with the third surgery, the recovery has been going steady.

“After the other surgeries, this one has definitely gone the best as far as [the] recovery process. 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.”

The Chicago Bulls player said that the most challenging part of the injury has been not being able to play. He regularly watches games, mainly featuring his brothers. Moreover, he remains hopeful that he will be back on court again and play at the highest level.

Lonzo Ball gets encouragement from Chicago Bulls teammates

Several Bulls stars like Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan spoke in detail about Ball. They had some encouraging words for their injured teammate. 2 x NBA All-Star LaVine, who had also suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in 2017, said that Ball is self-reliant.

"As a friend and as a teammate, I just try to help him whenever he asks. He's a guy that doesn't ask for a lot. You can tell, he doesn't want to rely on other people."

6 x NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan said that while the team misses Ball for his shenanigans and card-playing, he had seen a very positive outlook from his teammate.

“Any step positive for him promotes a better outlook. He's been the most positive a person can be through this whole process of taking away something he was so great at for these last couple years.”

While Lonzo Ball remains optimistic about his recovery, the reports have suggested that the Bulls organization hardly believes that Lonzo would ever play for them again. He is under contract through this season and has a player option of $21.4 million for the 2024-25 season.