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Lonzo Ball went through one of the more unique injury recoveries that the NBA has ever seen. In January of 2022, Ball went down with an injury in a game against the Golden State Warriors. It took him 1,009 days to get back on the court with the Chicago Bulls. It was a grueling journey, but Ball is back and healthy again, and the Bulls released a video that goes more in-depth on the injury and what Ball went through.
The biggest reason why Lonzo Ball missed so much time is that a lot of doctors weren't familiar with his injury. It took a while to even figure out what happened, and there was always a lot of uncertainty surrounding the situation.
“The hardest part mentally was not knowing what the outcome is going to be,” Ball said in the new Bulls video. “A lot of different opinions, a lot of different doctors. A lot of people, not really knowing what's going to happen after the surgery.”
When the Bulls started their 2024-25 season back in late October, Ball finally made his return. Chicago opened the season on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans, but he made his home debut later that week. It was a special one.
“The first game for me at the United Center, it was an amazing moment,” Ball said. “Got a ton of love from everybody in the building. That moment was very touching. These guys are people that you are honored to be around. These are people that I feel like I'll talk to even when I'm not playing anymore for the rest of my life. Made some good friends, lifelong friends and I think that was shown, definitely.”
One thing that everybody noticed during Lonzo Ball's journey is that his optimism never wavered. It was a difficult time, but Ball always did everything he could to get better.
“His whole attitude and approach has been inspiring to me,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said. “I mean, here's someone in the heart of his career with so much in front of him, has this injury and his disposition, his mood never changes. He's just put his head down and worked to try to get back.”
At the end of the day, that's really all Ball could do. Do his best and hope for the best.
“Just thought, be my best self and live with the results,” Ball said. “We have a lot of great character, high character guys on the team, staff, you know, the higher ups as well. So for me, it's just a blessing to come into work every day and be an environment that, you know, I'm appreciated in, and I won't take that for granted.”
Going through something like that is not easy, but the way that Ball handled it really stood out to his head coach.
“Speaks volumes not only of his recovery and rehab and what the doctors did and getting him back on the court, but I also think it speaks volumes to his resiliency and toughness mentally to fight through that,” Donovan said.
Now, Lonzo Ball is finally back and healthy, and he is enjoying every minute of it.
“I appreciate everybody,” Ball said. “Hasn't been an easy journey. Definitely hasn't been a short one. I needed all the extra push. Taking it day by day, like I said, it's an injury that we don't have too much knowledge about. So, just down the right path. Keep putting my best foot forward and hoping for the best.”
