Chicago Bulls star Lonzo Ball could be facing the end of his career. What do we know?

One can’t help but feel some degree of sympathy for the franchise after acquiring one of the best young talents in the league, only to have his career derailed by severe injury. Indeed, it now seems his issues may spell the end of his career, which is to say we should give a thought to him as well, not just the team.

Bulls believe Lonzo Ball may never play again

If you’ve been following Lonzo Ball’s career path, then you will know that he has not featured in recent times due to what can only be described as severe knee problems. Now, while injuries are part and parcel of any sport, it’s not normally the case to have an athlete facing the potential end of their career at the tender age of 25-years-old. Yet, according to reports, that’s exactly the situation in which the Chicago Bulls and Ball find themselves right now.

As per reports, the Bulls have privately acknowledged the idea that Ball may never take to the court again. Indeed, we could well be looking at the end of his career due to the continuing problems in his left knee. Speaking recently on 670 The Score, host Dan Berstein disclosed that the team currently fears the worst where Ball is concerned. “...The other thing I heard is even though publicly there has been an expression of guarded optimism regarding a future for Lonzo Ball...And there’s a reason why for you’re pursuant to all kinds of union issues, why they haven’t asked for the salary exemption yet because they don’t want to send the message publicly that they’re done with him. They don’t think it’s likely that he ever plays again.”

What happened to Lonzo Ball?

You may recall that it was back in March, when reports confirmed that Ball was set for a third operation on his left knee after he had been ruled out for the remainder of the 2022-23 season by the Bulls, due to lingering pain in his knee. To be clear, Ball has not played a game since January 14th in 2022, when he was forced off the court with knee soreness. It was later revealed that he had a small tear in his meniscus. The next time we had any significant news about Ball, was in mid-March when the Bulls confirmed that he would receive a cartilage transplant. Indeed, it was seen as a clear indication that the team was willing to go the distance with their young star.

“That was our speculation when we heard about experimental cartilage replacement surgery,” Bernstein said. “It is incredibly rare and is much more likely being done just for his quality of life off of the basketball court.” Ultimately, it now appears to have all been in vain, meaning that both the team and the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft will have to face the reality that his days in the NBA have likely come to an end. In his fledgling career, Ball averaged 11.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game across 252 of them between the Lakers who drafted him, the Pelicans who he later joined and the Bulls where he came into his own. It truly is a sad day for Ball, the Bulls and basketball fans.