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It’s been over a year since Chicago Bulls' point guard Lonzo Ball last played basketball on an NBA floor. He tore his meniscus in a game against the Golden State Warriors in January 2022 and, since then, has undergone two surgeries. Despite that, Ball has come no closer to returning to the Bulls lineup, and the team recently announced that he would be missing the rest of the 2022-2023 season.

Former Bulls big man Tristan Thompson recently revealed on ESPN that doctors are just as baffled by Ball’s injury and slow recovery as the rest of us.

Ball’s flown all over the country

Thomspon appeared on ESPN and said he’s spoken to Ball’s agent, Rich Paul, who revealed that the former had seen so many doctors and specialists all over the country but to no avail. None of them could provide a concrete answer as to why Ball is still experiencing pain and discomfort in his knee at this time and is unable to perform high-level basketball activities.

Although Ball has been able to run, jump, and even complete a slam dunk off of two feet, he’s been unable to do any other complex movements. With 23 games remaining, the Bulls thought it best to just shut Ball down for the season and wait for him to recover fully in time for next season’s training camp this September.

A long and uncertain road ahead

By then, it would be 20 months since Ball last played professional basketball. While the good news is that he’s expected to make a full recovery, the longer an athlete stays away from game competition and training, the more difficult it will be for them to regain their form.

It’ll be interesting to see how this saga plays out in the next few months. The Bulls clearly miss Ball’s court generalship and two-way play. All that said, for now, the organization has no choice but to move on without their star point guard.