CHICAGO — Lonzo Ball is addressing how a devastating knee injury altered his career while shutting down talk that he has retired. Fresh off signing a four-year, $85 million deal with the Chicago Bulls, Ball was a jack of all trades through the team's first 40 games as Chicago went 27-13, before a knee injury initially expected to sideline him six weeks led to complications, at least two additional surgeries on his left knee, and more than 1,000 days missed — including two full seasons — before he returned for the Bulls during the 2024-25 season.
Ball detailed the ongoing toll Tuesday on the "Ball in the Family" podcast featuring Gilbert Arenas. When Arenas asked how he was doing physically, Ball said he could "play if I want to, but still got to deal with it every day." He said he played basketball the day before the recording and his knee was swollen, noting he would stretch, ice it and do yoga to help it recover. He explained there are certain stances where the knee doesn't bother him, but other times he feels off balance and has lost the ability to stop himself abruptly while driving.
Asked about the mental impact, Ball said he was grateful to play nine seasons in the NBA. "I feel like I gave everything I had to hoop and I feel like everything I got in my life is because of hoop. So I'm grateful to even make it to the league and even be able to play for nine years. That's how I look at it … Your game changes. You see where you're supposed to be and you physically can't get there. You gotta be comfortable with yourself, to be honest with you. I feel like, to be honest, I don't think I ever got to my peak. And it's like, damn, that s*** sucks, but at the same time, there's a lot of people, like, that don't have meals to eat type s***. That's how I look at the world. So, it's like, damn, I still got to make it up there and got to play and put the jersey on and do everything I wanted to do as a kid, so that was enough for me to be happy." A brief moment of silence followed before Arenas continued the conversation.
The reflection was taken by some aggregators as an unofficial retirement, a claim Ball quickly denied. "I retired? News to me lol cuz I'm still waiting for a call… NBA season long 🤷🏻♂️" he said. It remains unclear whether that call will come. Ball averaged just 4.6 points in limited time with the Cavaliers last season and remained unsigned throughout essentially the entire offseason. At 28, he faces the reality he may not suit up for an NBA team again, but made clear he has not stepped away on his own.