For the first time since January of 2022, Chicago Bulls guard, Lonzo Ball, finally made his return to the court during the Bulls preseason game at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves. This was a huge moment for not only Bulls fans but the entire NBA community as Ball has constantly expressed his feelings on returning and the Bulls were in need of his services. After defeating the Timberwolves with 10 points in 15 minutes with the 2024-25 regular season right around the corner, the hopes Bulls fans have for this team has heighten with Ball’s return back to the court.
It’s no secret that Lonzo Ball has a horrible history with injuries throughout his young career. From having hip problems, left shoulder sprains, ankle issues and most recently, his knee kept him away from the game back on January 15, 2022 right before the Bulls game against the Boston Celtics; which no one would assume that’ll be his last chance to step on an NBA court for awhile. Later in that season, it was announced that Ball would miss the rest of the 2021-22 season due to undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and not being able to come back to the team dismantled all types of confidence within Ball and the Bulls fans for the team.
As the 2022-23 slowly approached, team doctors would announce that Ball would have yet another surgery that set Ball back even more for his eventual return to the team. This time, the surgery would be for arthroscopic debridement and Ball would have to miss the start of the following new season. No type of physical activity including running or jumping, Ball said during an in-season interview for the Balls on September 27, 2022.”I still can’t play basketball. I did rehab. It was getting better. But it was not to a point where I could get out there and actually go out there and run at full speed or jump. So surgery was the next step…I don’t want to rush anything at all,” Ball admitted to the press, leaving everyone wondering when will Ball see the court again.
Later during that same season without touching the court once, the Bulls announced that Ball would get shut down for the remainder of that season on February 21, 2023. Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President, Arturas Karnisovas said, “Considering the required time period to achieve the necessary level of fitness to return to play and the current stage of the NBA season, Ball will not return this season. The focus for Ball will continue to be a resolution of his discomfort and full return for the 2023-24 season,” the words Karnisovas spoke to the press about Ball’s future at that time.
One month later, it was announced that Ball had gotten yet another surgery done to the same knee. Ball underwent a cartilage transplant surgery and would be out indefinitely. With this news, Bulls fans were scared of the eventual news that Ball would miss out another NBA season. During the summer of 2023, the Bulls announced that Ball will be out for the entire 2023-24 season without any possibility of getting on the court. However, after all of those months and years of waiting, Lonzo Ball is now back in a Chicago Bulls jersey as the Bulls organization and fans cheer in amazement. Win or lose, it was a big night for the Bulls with Ball’s return but it was even sweeter leaving the court with the W. With the additions of Giddey, Jalen Smith and Coby White now starting, the Bulls chances for this new season at a strong playoff push still remains to be seen.
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