Today, the Chicago Bulls are one of the most iconic teams in the NBA, largely thanks to Michael Jordan winning six championships from 1991 to ’98. But they haven’t had a winning season since 2022, which is also the last season Lonzo Ball was available for action.
Specifically, Ball hasn’t played since Jan. 14, 2022, due to a series of complications regarding his left knee, which has required several surgeries.
Recently, during Ball’s What An Experience podcast, he revealed that his recovery process even involved having a meniscus donated to him.
“It started with a meniscus tear, basically started on the Lakers when I tore it the first time. 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 new meniscus from a donor, I had to get a bone allograft and I had to get some new cartilage put in as well.”
Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball
.@ZO2_ breaks down his injury for the first time. pic.twitter.com/Igl7qjS2Vi
— The WAE Show (@TheWAEShow) May 24, 2024
Ball says he’s all healed now and is back on the court, playing the game he loves. The meniscus/bone allograft process took roughly 14-15 months. Before then, it was just trying to determine what the issue was, in what he called a wasted year.
- Lonzo Ball stats (2021-22): 14 PPG, 5.5 APG, 5 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 39.4% 3PT
If Ball is ready to go for the Bulls’ season opener in 2024, and the 26-year-old says he is, then Chicago could be in a position to return to contending in the Eastern Conference. Ball is due $21.9 million in 2024, the final season of a four-year, $80 million contract.
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