Lonzo Ball is talking like he will be returning to basketball.
Ball, the Bulls’ 26-year-old point guard, spoke on the “What an Experience” podcast about his journey over the last several years in seeking to repair a knee injury that some have worried would be career-threatening.
“To make a long story short: Ultimately, it started with a meniscus tear, basically started on the Lakers when I tore it the first time,” Ball said, as covered by Larry Brown Sports.
“[I] tore it a couple more times to a point to where there was no more meniscus left, bone on bone was rubbing. So, the cartilage was gone and the bone was messed up. So, I had to get a new meniscus from a donor, I had to get a bone allograft, and I had to get some new cartilage put in as well. All that healed up and now I’m back on the court.”
He added that it was a “wasted year” trying to figure out what the issue was with his knee before he ultimately underwent those procedures.
Ball was of the belief that he was on track to return for the Bulls’ season opener next season.
He missed the entire 2023-24 season with his knee injury, and played in just 35 games last season.
Next season is the final year of his four-year, $80 million contract.
Last August, Ball had a tiff with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
“I don’t think he’ll ever be the same… I’ve heard that it’s even hard for him to get up from the sitting position… I’m really, really sad for him,” Smith said of Ball on an episode of “First Take”.
Ball posted a video on social media where he sat down and stood up several times and added the caption, “@stephenasmith come to the actual source next time. I’m not hard to reach.”
