"Heartbroken" - Lonzo Ball shares his initial reaction to learning about cartilage transplant surgery that sidelined him with Bulls
NBA fans gathered last night to witness the return of Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves. For the first time in over 1,000 days, Ball played competitive basketball again after undergoing three surgeries. In an interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews and Shams Charania on Thursday, he shared his thoughts on his journey back to the court.
"To be honest, it was just a blessing," Ball said about his journey back to being healthy. "It actually went by a lot faster than it sounded. The journey has been amazing, been a long one. But a lot of people have been with me, supporting me, and it all came together last night.
Charania asked Ball what his initial reaction was when he found out what procedures he needed to go through.
"The initial reaction was obviously heartbroken. You got something that you love taken away from you and the best people in their profession telling you they don't know if you'll be able to play again. Just the fact that I was able to get on the path, get on the same page with a bunch of doctors and have a plan in play and execute the plan to where, 1,000 days later, I get to play the game I love. I couldn't ask for nothing else."
Ball only played 35 games in his first season with the Bulls in the 2021-22 campaign and was sidelined the succeeding seasons. First, he had arthroscopic debridement, which caused him to miss the 2022-23 season. The second procedure done on his knee was a cartilage transplant on March 2023. Lastly, the former UCLA guard had a meniscus transplant.
Since then, the Bulls have carefully ramped up Ball's return. On Wednesday, he came off the bench and played 15 minutes. The guard had 10 points and hit two of his four attempts from beyond the arc.
Lonzo Ball received a standing ovation from the fans as he checked into the game
It was a long journey for Lonzo Ball, but fans are happy to see him back. As he checked into the game, fans welcomed him with a standing ovation.
Fans were smiling as they finally saw Ball back in action. Even his Bulls teammates gave him his flowers for the work that he put in to return to action.