Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball said he will play in the NBA again at Invest Fest in Atlanta, dubbed “the world’s biggest business festival” and filled with speakers from the worlds of music, investment and entertainment.
Some people around the NBA don’t think Ball will play again after undergoing a cartilage transplant in his left knee in March, but the UCLA product is confident he will prove his doubters wrong.
“Life is not easy,” Ball said, via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “If you want to get the most out of it, you gotta put your best foot forward. If you’re going to get knocked down, you gotta get back up every time if you want to keep going. You can always quit and take the easy way out and pout and go to the side. But for me, if you’re trying to get to a place where I want to get to, you just gotta get back up, dust off and keep going. I’m going to play again.”
Ball told Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young on the “From The Point” podcast that he’ll miss the entire 2023-24 season. The Bulls’ floor general missed the entire 2022-23 season as well.
“Just taking it day by day bro,” Ball told Young. “I just had a really big surgery. Hopefully, the last one I ever have to get. It’s a long process. I’m already out this whole next season (for the Bulls). When I first got hurt, we didn’t really know what it was. I was seeing all type of different doctors and stuff. I was just kind of going up and down. That was really hard for me because I just didn’t know what the next day was going to be like. At least now, I got the surgery. We got a plan moving forward. We’ve been on plan. I’m on track. Hopefully, everything works out. I just leave it up to God and do the best I can and live with the results.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Lonzo Ball, Chicago Bulls Updates
Ball has undergone three surgeries on his left knee. The former Los Angeles Lakers guard hasn’t played in an NBA game since January 14, 2022.
Ball signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Bulls in August 2021 as part of a sign-and-trade deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. The 25-year-old averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Bulls in 2021-22 in 35 games while shooting 42.3% from the field, 42.3% from beyond the arc and 75.0% from the free-throw line.
The older brother of Charlotte Hornets All-Star LaMelo Ball, Lonzo has career NBA averages of 11.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists with the Lakers, Pelicans and Bulls.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Lonzo Ball, Chicago Bulls Updates
“I wish I never got injured to be honest,” Ball told Young. “I wouldn’t want to come back. But that’s just what’s in front of me. And I just gotta tackle it head-on.
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