The Chicago Bulls made huge moves in 2021 to spur the franchise back into the playoffs after having missed the postseason since 2017. Their biggest add was DeMar DeRozan, but it was the addition of 24-year old point guard Lonzo Ball that excited many fans, as Ball's future as a do-it all defensive oriented sharpshooting point guard was blindingly bright. However, Ball's injuries have reared their ugly head once more, and he is likely to miss the rest of the 2022-23 season after revealing that he “can't run or jump“, much less play basketball.

Bulls and NBA fans on Twitter bonded over their grief towards Lonzo Ball's worrying condition, with many expressing immense heartbreak over seeing a player as entertaining to watch as Ball be denied to do the thing he loves the most.

Lonzo Ball's knee problems began back in January, after he suffered a bone bruise and a meniscus tear on his left knee. The initial prognosis was for Ball to miss only 6-8 weeks, but clearly, something's gone quite amiss during Ball's recovery process.

Head coach Billy Donovan appears to be ringing the alarm bells as well, after he mentioned that the Bulls will be operating under the assumption that Ball would miss the rest of the season. Many fans hope that this is not the beginning of the end for Ball's career, as many greats who have come before him have succumbed to chronic knee problems.

It is a hard pill to swallow for Bulls fans to see Ball, who signed a four year, $80 million deal last offseason in a sign and trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, to miss a sizable chunk of his career, especially after seeing him average an impressive 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists per game on 42 percent shooting from beyond the arc last season.

Some things are bigger than basketball, and Lonzo Ball's injury is one of them. His knee troubles have even prevented him from functioning as he always had, having troubles walking through stairs for example, and hopefully the surgery he's set to go through allows him to make a full recovery.

The Bulls organization will be wise to allow Lonzo Ball to take as much time as he needs, not only to protect their investment in him as a player, but also to protect him as a person.