Lonzo Ball is nearing the two-year mark from his last game played in the NBA.
He's not giving up on his career, even if it appears to be on life support. Rarely, do professional athletes return from the degree of injury Ball has suffered over the past two years. But Ball is continuing to take steps in rehab.
Billy Donovan provided the media with a positive update on his status ahead of Thursday's game against the Pacers.
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"Hopefully, in January, he'll start running," Donovan said. "That's the big thing. But everything they've done in terms of progressing him, he's handled very well. 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."
Ball, as Donovan mentions, has been able to do various activities. If you can recall, Ball posted a video to social media of him doing single-leg squats on a chair after Stephen A. Smith reported he wasn't able to complete that task.
But, it's never been clear if he's been able to complete athletic activities without experiencing pain. In September 2022, ahead of his second knee surgery, Ball expressed he had been enduring pain in everyday activities, like walking up stairs, running and jumping.
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Now, the Bulls will be able to see if he can ramp things up without pain in January. That would be a major step for the Bulls' point guard. He hasn't played since January 2022 and underwent three knee surgeries in 14 months, the last of which is the most daunting: a cartilage transplant.
That's an extremely rare procedure for a professional athlete. Festus Ezeli underwent cadaver ligament replacement surgery in March 2017 and never played in the NBA again. It's not the same surgery Ball underwent but shows the severity to which Ball is dealing with his knee injury.
But Ball hasn't gotten discouraged with his situation, rare as it is. Donovan commended his point guard for his mentality throughout his rehab.
"He was in town last week so we spent some time together," Donovan said. "I give him a lot of credit. It's amazing. His disposition hasn't changed at all. It's really remarkable. And not to say that he's carefree because he's not; I know the guy wants to be out there playing. The game has 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."
It's satisfying to know Ball has remained strong.
He said as much, too, during Bulls media day. He plans to play again. And he's taking the steps necessary to make that happen. The most important factor in him being able to do that is by keeping a strong mentality.
“I definitely plan on playing again,” Ball said in October. “After surgery three, I feel like it’s going well so far, no setbacks. So for me it's just keep my head up, just keep doing the work.
“Everything happens for a reason. I couldn't control getting hurt or not getting hurt or anything like that. It's just something that happened to me, part of my career,” he said. “I try to stay positive. I don't look at the negatives. I try to think about what I can do to get better and that's how I wake up every day and live.
“I have a lot of family and friends that have helped me along the way, especially this team right here. For me, I have a lot of people in my corner, so it's not just me fighting this fight. It's everybody around me as well. I appreciate them every day.”