Lonzo Ball's return after 2.5 years is a moment he'll "never forget"

Lonzo Ball‘s long anticipated return took place on Wednesday night’s 125-123 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Chicago Bulls penultimate preseason game.

“Felt a lot better playing than watching, I’ll say that much,” Ball said after the game.

“I can’t even really put into words how I felt out there,” he continued. “I was just blessed happy to be out there. Man, all the support around me was great all night, man. It was definitely a moment I’ll never forget.”

At 6:08 in the first quarter, Ball checked in to a loud ovation from the United Center crowd, waiving to show his appreciation.

“Just blessed, man,” he said of the ovation upon his checking in. “I mean, a lot of people that helped me get here, not just myself. So just to see the crowd and all the love I get from the city, man, you can replicate that in any type of way. And it’s real.”

Ball has been out since January 14, 2022 when he originally injured his knee. After two meniscus procedures that didn’t fully address the pain and discomfort he had been experiencing, he opted for an experimental cartilage transplant.

Prior to Ball who did it on Wednesday night, no NBA player had returned from that procedure. The recovery and rehab process from that alone would be 18 months. Ball spoke about his recovery before the game, but head coach Billy Donovan expressed additional admiration for Ball’s attitude throughout the process.

“He never really wavered at all,” Donovan said. “Whatever was in front of him, he attacked and tried to do the best job he could with it. And even when we found out however long ago it was that the surgery was going to be 18 months and he was going to be out for the 18 months, he just kind of attacked the rehab. He’s really been quite remarkable in a lot of ways, and very, very inspiring in a lot of ways for him, to see him deal with it the way he has.”

In his first stint, Ball immediately hit a three from the corner.

He followed it up with another three a few players later.

Ball also displayed some of the defensive playmaking that made him such a unique and special player prior to his injury.

Naturally, questions would arise as to whether he would face a mental block about going into the paint, diving for loose balls or putting his body at risk. He showed no such fear leaping towards the bench to save a ball he tipped away in the second quarter.

“Just smart,” Donovan said of Ball’s block. “He knew that the offensive player had their back turned, and he kind of came down on top of it. But that’s like him. He makes a lot of cerebral plays. He sees things before they develop.”

Ball had a pair of layups on back cuts, one on an assist from Zach LaVine, another coming from Patrick Williams — both in the third quarter.

Per the plan, Ball played 15 minutes, just under his 16-minute restriction the team had set for him. Donovan indicated two four-minute stints per half, but he ended up playing three stints of roughly five minutes. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-4 threes, one rebound, one assist, one steal and one block and was +6 on the game.

Most importantly, there were no setbacks, no discomfort and no injury concerns coming out of the game.

“I wasn’t thinking about it at all,” Ball said. “So that’s a positive thing. I didn’t feel it at all. I felt like I was moving great. So now it’s just about building. Just continue to do it night and night out.”

Getting back on the court at all was miraculous in itself. To resemble anything close to his former self is even more special.

“For me personally, I just am happy that he can get back doing what he loves,” Donovan said pre-game. “He just loves to play. He loves to play. And I think if you talk to him, just even about his childhood and going through AAU, and it just was always playing, he just always played, and that’s what he loves doing. And I’m just happy for him that he can get back to doing that.”

His teammates shared in that happiness and celebration by presenting him with a game ball.

This moment was a big one. To make it back after such a long journey was a massive checkpoint for Ball. But both he and the organization are focused on helping him long term. That means more maintenance, recovery and medical protocols as they ramp him towards the grind of the NBA season.

“We’re always going to take his health first and foremost, but I think he’s going to need to play, because that’s kind of the normal NBA rhythm, a little bit, where you’re playing every other day,” Donovan said… “I’d love to see him be able to come back and play again (on Friday). I think the better it is for him and his rhythm, and I think helps medical staff as well.”

Ball sounded optimistic that he would be back for Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“I’m gonna play Friday for sure,” he said.

Other Notes

• LaVine continues to play extremely well in preseason. He got to the line seven times, while scoring 19 points on 11 shots. He’s locked in defensively, moving the ball and buying into the role the Bulls are asking of him.
• In addition to hitting a pair of threes, Williams had a few nice mid-range jumpers — one a pull-up, another a fade away from a post up against Wolves guard Mike Conley. He also hammered home a dunk on a drive in the third quarter and grabbed six rebounds. This was his best effort this preseason.
• Josh Giddey struggled to score, going 1-of-11 from the field, 1-of-5 on threes for a total of four points. He did well to keep the offense moving, collecting nine assists, but went -5 in his 28 minutes.
• Nikola Vucevic has been relatively quiet this preseason, but put up 17 points, 12 rebounds and four assists against Rudy Gobert and the Wolves.
• Jalen Smith returned from his two-game injury absence and scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting. He’s now 0-of-7 from deep in his two preseason games.
• Coby White shot it well — he scored 23 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 5-of-7 threes. Notably, he got to the free throw line six times and made all of his attempts.
• Ayo Dosunmu (shoulder), Matas Buzelis (shin contusion), Julian Phillips (ribs), Dalen Terry (knee soreness) were all out.

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