Lonzo Ball will be sidelined for at least 10 days with a wrist injury. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
In his third game back in the NBA, Lonzo Ball was injured again.
Thankfully, this injury was not his troubled left knee, which required three surgeries and forced him to miss more than two seasons with the Chicago Bulls.
The Bulls announced Tuesday that Ball sprained his right wrist during Monday’s 126-123 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The condition of the injury will be re-examined in 10 days.
Ball missed the entire 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons due to left knee pain, but returned this season. He was first diagnosed with a bone bruise in his knee in January 2022, sidelining him for the first time. The injury was later diagnosed as a torn meniscus, which required surgery. Ball was initially given a six-to-eight week schedule before returning, but he continued to experience discomfort in his knee and sat out the remainder of the 2021-22 season.
Before the start of the 2022-23 season, Ball underwent arthroscopic debridement surgery to address complications from his initial knee injury and surgery. The Bulls said at the time that he would be reevaluated in four to six weeks. He missed the entire season and underwent a third surgery before the end of the season.
In March 2023, Ball underwent a cartilage transplant and a rare meniscal transplant, which required a new meniscus from a donor. The procedure forced Ball to sit out the entire 2023-24 season, raising concerns that the former No. 2 overall pick (2017) would never play basketball again.
However, he was cleared to play at the beginning of this season. In Chicago’s first three games, Ball averaged 4.7 points, 3.7 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game while shooting 35.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range. He played 15.7 minutes per game in a reserve role.
He and the Bulls certainly expect him to return from his wrist injury much faster this time around.
