After missing 30 games of action during his rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers, point guard Lonzo Ball decided to undergo an arthroscopic knee surgery to deal with the injury head-on, in hopes to return fully healthy for the start of the season.
In the latest episode of his Facebook show Ball In The Family, Ball explained what made him take the surgery route, instead of other alternatives.
“I got hurt a couple of times during the season and then after the season I decided to get a shot and try to take care of it that way, that didn’t work, so the last option is surgery,” Ball said during the show, according to Christian Rivas of LonzoWire.
Ball was filmed through the process of it all and had to explain to his father, LaVar, the implications of it versus other alternatives.
“They’ve got to take it out,” Lonzo told LaVar. “They said they could repair it but it would take me six months to get back. But, if they just take it out it will only be six weeks.”
The rookie sensation received a platelet-rich plasma shot in his knee last season, which put him on the shelf for a month, but even after returning, he was still bothered by the residual pain in his knee — making surgery a very viable option heading into the offseason.
Ball has been limited to non-contact shooting since undergoing surgery on July 17, hoping to be able to return for a full training camp.