After missing two and a half years of action while recovering from three knee surgeries to repair a bothersome meniscus tear, Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball finally returned to the NBA in the Bulls’ season opener on 23 October, a 123. -111 loss to Ball’s previous franchise, the New Orleans Pelicans.

He played exactly three games before getting injured again.

Now, Ball is struggling to recover from a sprained right wrist that should have cost him just 10 days. The 6-foot-6 guard has exceeded his projected return timeline and is apparently still listed indefinitely.

On KC Johnson of the Chicago Sports NetworkBulls head coach Billy Donovan indicated that Ball no longer has a precise timeline for when he will see action again.

In fairness, Ball was limited to a bench role under a minutes restriction. The 27-year-old’s ability to return after such a long absence is somewhat remarkable. In his three contests back, he averaged 4.7 points on 35.7 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent on 3-point shooting while dishing out 3.7 assists assists and 2.7 rebounds per night in 15.7 minutes per night.

Ball, a Chino Hills native, was a college phenom during his one-and-one NCAA season at UCLA before being drafted by his hometown Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 2 in the 2017 NBA Draft. He was selected by team president Magic Johnson ahead of future All-Stars Jayson Tatum, De’Aaron Fox, Lauri Markkanen, Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo.

Over his two seasons in Los Angeles, Ball averaged 10.0 ppg on .380/.315/.437, 6.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks per night. His injury woes have been a problem from the jump. The oversized point guard appeared in an average of 49.5 games in those two years with the Lakers.

Ball fully blossomed in his 3rd and D prime in New Orleans. He was a key component of the trade package for the promising youngster Los Angeles had to ship to acquire All-NBA superstar Anthony Davis in the summer of 2019. In those two years from New Orleans , Ball posted 13.1 runs on .409. /.376/.664 shooting percentage, 6.4 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks per game, emerging as an above-average starting point guard in the league.

The Lakers also benefited from the Davis deal. Along with All-NBA forward LeBron James, Davis instantly won a championship during their first season together. Since then, they have not returned to the top of the mountain, although Los Angeles reached the 2023 Western Conference Finals.

Ball’s future looked bright when he signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Chicago Bulls as a restricted free agent in a 2021 sign-and-trade. But he played just 38 games with the club in his fourth season enter the second month. Hopefully he will be able to return to action soon.

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