Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, who has not played since January 14, 2022, will undergo a third knee surgery, which could force him to miss most of the 2023-24 NBA season, if not the entire season, as reported. The Athletic.
Ball has experienced lingering discomfort in his surgically repaired left knee. He underwent surgery for a torn meniscus just weeks after suffering the injury in January of last year and has suffered multiple setbacks while trying to ramp up his basketball activities.
The Bulls rested him for 10 days at one point, hoping that would resolve the issue and allow him to return. But he felt pain again when he started getting ready to play.
Ball still couldn’t run at full speed or even climb the stairs without experiencing discomfort when he had another operation in late September. At the time he said he expected to play this season, but in February, the team announced he would sit out the season.
Ball has been able to do some work on the court. He recently posted a video on Instagram of him taking a break.
Ball averaged 13.0 points and 5.1 assists while shooting 42.3 percent from 3-point range in 35 games last season, his first in Chicago. He helped create stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan and gave the Bulls an elite perimeter defender.
Chicago is 11th in the Eastern Conference at 31-37.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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