Bulls' Lonzo Ball to return Wednesday against Timberwolves, play with 16-minute restriction - The Athletic
By: Darnell Mayberry (The Athletic)
No professional sports player has ever come back to their team after a knee cartilage transplant, so although I am not as big an NBA fan as I once was, I will be following his progress.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
By Darnell Mayberry1h ago
CHICAGO — Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball said he will be restricted to 16 minutes per game as he attempts a comeback following 2 1/2 seasons away from basketball.
Ball, who hasn't appeared in an NBA contest in 1,006 days, will make his long-awaited return in the Bulls' home preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
"I'm going to have to manage it all year. That's just the reality of it," Ball told local reporters following the team's shootaround Wednesday morning.
"Hopefully (my playing time) gets up and up, but right now I'm on a 16-minute restriction. So, no more than 16. Obviously, it could be less than that, but that's the number right now."
Ball underwent three surgeries on his left knee this year to address chronic soreness he began experiencing during the 2021-22 season, his first with the Bulls. He was limited to 35 games that season before undergoing meniscus and cartilage replacements. The surgeries were considered to be last-ditch, career-saving procedures.
No player in NBA history has achieved the type of comeback Ball is on the doorstep of making. Ball, who turns 27 on Oct. 27, always expressed confidence he'd be back.
"I think just the belief in myself," Ball explained. "Knowing what I was feeling, knowing that I was a good age to come back from it, and just trusting in the doctors and the people around me. And ultimately, I got back on the court."
Asked to sum up the last two years, Ball grinned and responded "really long."
"But looking back on it, it went by a lot faster than I thought," he said. "Getting the first surgery and then coming back and having the second and third, and they're telling me 18 more months of recovery. That sounds crazy in the moment, but now I'm here, and it's all behind me now. So, I'm happy."
Ball doesn't expect to immediately be the same player emerging as a two-way star three seasons ago. He still has the elite court vision and savvy that helped to make him a special talent. Now he must compensate for potentially being a step slower. The defensive end is where Ball will have the biggest adjustment, particularly fighting through screens and recovering on plays.
"It's definitely going to be different," Ball said. "It's not the same body I started off with, but I think I can still be productive and effective on the court. That's why I'm still trying to play. For me, it's just going out there and doing what I can to help the team win."
Ball said he feels comfortable and has complete confidence in his knee.
"I'm just going to go out there and play freely, man," he said. "I'm not thinking about it too much. I'm cleared to play, so I'm going to play."
Ball also voiced his appreciation for the support of family, friends, fans, teammates — both current and former — and the Bulls franchise.
"I've got nothing but love and respect for them," Ball said of the Bulls organization. "They could have just pushed me to the side and kept moving. Instead, they've been with me the whole way and given me the best treatment, the best help I can get. All the hard work wasn't just from me. It was from a collective unit, and it all paid off to have me back on the court today."
Darnell Mayberry is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Chicago Bulls. He spent 12 years at The Oklahoman, where he handled the Thunder beat before moving into an editor's role. Prior to The Oklahoman, Darnell covered the University of Akron men's basketball, preps and recruiting at the Akron Beacon Journal. He is the author of "100 Things Thunder Fans Should Know And Do Before They Die."Follow Darnell on Twitter @DarnellMayberry
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Lonzo Ball will play for the Bulls tonight after missing nearly 3 years: ‘I can still be productive and effective’
CHICAGO — For the first time in nearly three years, Lonzo Ball will put on a Chicago Bulls jersey and enter an NBA game tonight.
It’s been 1,006 days since Ball suffered what appeared to be a minor meniscus injury that led to three operations, two seasons on the sidelines and looming doubt over his ability to ever return. But if Ball was feeling any nerves ahead of tonight’s return to the court, he wasn’t admitting it after shootaround at the Advocate Center on Wednesday morning.
“I’m just happy to be back,” Ball said ahead of the preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. “I’ve been playing basketball for 20 years so the game hasn’t really changed. I’m just happy to be back on the court.”
Ball has not experienced any setbacks since he returned to five-on-five scrimmaging in August outside of a bout of COVID-19, which kept him off the court ahead of training camp and caused him to lose close to 10 pounds. After getting his weight back up, Ball said he feels strong and prepared to play in a live game.
The Bulls are keeping expectations low for Ball’s return to the court. The guard will be held to a firm 16-minute restriction and could play fewer minutes at the discretion of coach Billy Donovan, the team medical staff and Ball himself. Donovan previously said the Bulls wanted to ensure that Ball could withstand a normal length of rotation before he was cleared to play, meaning he will likely take the court in stretches of four to six minutes.
Ball is blunt about the realities of his return. He is still experiencing regular soreness in his knee, a nagging constant he will monitor for the remainder of his professional career. And he won’t be the same player on the court — not on Wednesday and maybe not ever.
“It’s definitely going to be different,” Ball said. “It’s not the same body I started off with. But I think I can still be productive and effective on the court. That’s why I’m still trying to play. … I feel comfortable out there. So other than that, I just got to hoop.”
Still, this is a major milestone for both Ball and the future of sports medicine. No player has ever returned to the NBA — or a major American professional sports league — after undergoing a knee cartilage transplant.
Ball received two grafts in his third and final operation, one to fully replace his meniscus and the other to replace the cartilage meant to separate the bone in the knee from other parts of the joint. This combination only increased the severity and rarity of both the treatment and Ball’s odds for a full recovery.
As those odds stacked higher, the collective voice of the NBA agreed on the same sentiment: the league is better with Ball. The guard said he received an outpouring of support from teammates and opponents alike, both in public on social media and in private.
Ball also voiced gratitude for the Bulls organization, which has continued to emphasize the importance of a slow and steady return to preserve the guard’s health for the rest of his career — even if he doesn’t stay in Chicago.
“They could have just pushed me to the side and kept moving,” Ball said. “Instead, they’ve been with me the whole way and given me the best treatment, the best help I can get. All the hard work, it wasn’t just from me. It’s from a collective unit and it all paid off to have me back on the court today.”