By: Justin Gincauskas
As January marks two years since Lonzo Ball last played an NBA game, Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan provided a positive update on Ball’s injury. According to a report from Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune, Ball will hopefully start running in January and no longer has the pain he was experiencing in his knee. He will still be out for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
“Everything they’ve done in terms of progressing him he’s handled very well,” Donovan said. “The pain that he was experiencing that was causing the setback, I think, has been eliminated in terms of what he’s doing now. But he hasn’t run. He’s been able to do weight training and different kinds of mobility things and shoot stationary shots. But the next progression for him would be to start running. And that would be here in January.”
Donovan praised Lonzo Ball for not getting discouraged through this entire injury situation. Ball remains focused on trying to make a return to the court despite being out for two years.
“I give him a lot of credit. It’s amazing. His disposition has not changed at all. It’s really remarkable,” Donovan said. “And not to say that he’s carefree, because he’s not. I know the guy wants to be out there playing. The game’s been taken away from him for a couple of years now.”
“But his attitude and the optimism that he’s going to get back on the floor, I appreciate. Because I think when you go through what he has gone through, it’s very easy to sit there and start to doubt and question.”
Ball last played during the 2021-22 season when he appeared in 35 games with the Bulls. Since then, Ball has had three separate arthroscopic knee surgeries. In his career, Ball has averaged 11.9 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game.
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