The Ball brothers have been one of the most famous siblings to play in the NBA. The Charlotte Hornets waived LiAngelo before the start of the 2022-23 NBA season, but LaMelo still leads their team on the court. As for Lonzo, it has been a completely different story until now. He was involved in a three-team trade and moved to the Chicago Bulls.
Lonzo’s career with the Bulls has been swamped with injuries, and it has been quite some time since he played. He was a solid player for the Lakers, and he was decent when he played for the Bulls. Lonzo was often dubbed as a great passer and playmaker, as some even claimed he was naturally good. However, his NBA dream came crashing down when he suffered a knee injury.
Lonzo Ball is aiming to become the first-ever NBA player to return from cartilage transplant surgery
(h/t @ChiSportUpdates ) pic.twitter.com/ltbY9ckf54
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) March 20, 2023
Ball suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee when playing against the Golden State Warriors in January 2022. That was the last time he played for the Bulls. He wasn’t aware of the injury at the time, and Zach LaVine was forced to leave that game early because of a knee injury as well. Unfortunately for Lonzo, he missed the rest of the 2021-22 NBA season with that single injury.
Will Lonzo Ball play again?
He underwent surgery at that time, but it was to no avail. In September 2022, Lonzo decided to have a second procedure done after experiencing major discomfort in his knee. Sadly, this did not help the player as well. This was when he decided to go for something not many would in their career. The Bulls star decided to undergo a cartilage transplant.
For those who don’t know, the damaged cartilage tissue cells will be repaired using the patient’s cells from their own body. It seems like this is what Lonzo has gone for. However, there has been no NBA player to undergo this surgery and return to action in the history of the league. Lonzo has been confident about his return, though. He said recently, “My main focus has been on returning to the court and getting to a place where I can rejoin my teammates.”
The Bulls privately believe that Lonzo Ball will never play again, per @dan_bernstein pic.twitter.com/2TBTkIsFiL
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) May 28, 2023
But it looks like the Bulls are not on the same page as Lonzo Ball. Recent reports suggest that the franchise secretly believes that he could never play again. The main reason for this could be the seriousness of his surgery, and the fact that there haven’t been many updates about his progress in the last few months.
Regardless, the NBA community is still eager to welcome him back. He was one of the players who broke onto the scene in stunning fashion a few years ago, and it looks like Bulls fans, especially, are holding onto the hope.
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