What's the Latest on Lonzo Ball's Knee?

It has been 393 days and 102 games since point guard Lonzo Ball dressed up and started for the Bulls, played basketball, or has been able to run or walk up the stairs without pain and Ball reportedly may have to sit out the rest of the 2022-23 season if his left knee issues don’t improve soon. 

Neither Ball, nor the Bulls, nor the six doctors he has reportedly consulted know what is causing the chronic soreness but, according to the Pro Basketball Docs, he doesn’t appear anywhere close to a return and the convoluting and worrying set of circumstances around Ball’s left knee put his NBA future in question. 

The 25-year-old underwent a partial meniscectomy last January but had to go under the knife again – as the Docs have anticipated since last spring – for a left knee scope and debridement in late September, during which Lavar Ball said on Stacey King’s podcast that they removed tissue and/or bone fragments from a nearby nerve. 

Initially, the Bulls described his injury as knee soreness, then simply a bone bruise, before settling on “deep” bone bruise and partially-torn meniscus that may have happened separately. 

Lavar Ball has since mentioned multiple times that his son suffered from a nerve issue that was limiting mobility while Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune has reported the injury as a torn MCL. 

The Pro Basketball Docs have contended that Ball could have suffered significant and irreversible articular damage from his bone bruise last January, which would be the source of his arthritis and could have delayed his second surgery (and any future surgeries). 

The former No. 2 overall pick is in the second year of a four-year, $80 million contract with the Bulls, 26-29, and posted averages of 13 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.8 steals on exactly 42.3% shooting from the field, on threes, and on twos. 

The Bulls went 22-13 in the 35 games he played last season and, after starting 27-13 through January 14, 2022, are a combined 46-56 without Ball since. 

Lonzo Ball Left Knee Injury History

• July 13, 2018: After he missed 32 games in his rookie season, Ball was diagnosed with a torn meniscus, underwent a partial meniscectomy, and returned in time for the 2018-19 season

• January 14, 2022: Ball reportedly suffered a partially-torn left meniscus and deep bone bruise and still played 24 minutes, although he appeared to be massaging his knee seconds after the opening tip

• January 28, 2022: After a week of prehab for his bone bruise, Ball underwent a meniscus removal and was expected to be out for 6-8 weeks

• April 6, 2022: The Bulls shut down Ball for the 2021-22 season after soreness re-emerged during his re-conditioning and he later said his recovery was “at a standstill” as he entered the offseason

• September 27, 2022: Ball said that he “Literally, I really can't run… or jump. There's a range from, like, 30 to 60 degrees when my knee is bent that I have, like, no force and I can't, like, catch myself… But it’s clear that there’s something there that’s not right"

• Sept. 28, 2022: Ball underwent a left knee debridement scope and would be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks as “Bulls medical specialists are still uncertain as to why Ball’s knee isn’t responding to surgery and rehabilitation”

• Jan. 13, 2022: Almost exactly a year since he last played, Ball posted videos of himself on social media dunking and jogging on a treadmill and said on January 16 in Paris “Obviously, there’s still some discomfort and some hitching in there… That was my first time running in pretty much a year"

• February 9: Weeks after Billy Donovan said that Ball is “nowhere near playing,” executive Artūras Karnišovas said the team will re-evaluate the point guard after the all-star break and reportedly could shut him down 

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