Lonzo Ball expresses confidence in his bid to return to the NBA: "I'm going to play again"

It's been a long road to recovery for Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball since he injured his knee in a game versus the Golden State Warriors in January of 2022. Three knee procedures later, the end is not yet in sight, as the former UCLA star will miss the 2023-2024 season to continue rehabbing in the hope of one day returning to the NBA. Ball, though, is adamant that Bulls and basketball fans have not seen the last of him.

"I'm going to play again," Ball said at the Invest Fest in Atlanta.

Lonzo Ball, speaking at Invest Fest in Atlanta on Saturday, insisted he will recover from his knee surgery and return to basketball in the near future.

“I’m going to play again,” Ball said.

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— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) August 27, 2023

Get back up

The 25-year-old admitted that life without basketball has not been easy. After all, Lonzo has always had basketball as a major part of his life since he was a prep star at Chino Hills in California. All that changed when he got hurt, and he's been trying to get back on the NBA floor ever since.

"Life is not easy," Ball shared. "If you want to get the most out of it, you gotta put your best foot forward. If you're going to get knocked down, you gotta get back up every time if you want to keep going."

"You can always quit and take the easy way out and pout and go to the side. But for me, if you're trying to get to a place where I want to get to, you just gotta get back up, dust off and keep going," Lonzo added.

Focused on returning

Ball has had his fair share of criticisms from both fans and experts. The most recent one came from renowned talking head Stephen A. Smith, who questioned Ball's health status after the latter posted a video of him doing single-leg presses on his surgically repaired knee. However, Ball refuses to get into a war of words and instead intends to focus on the steps he has to take to return to health and the form he once had.

Stephen A. Smith sends a message to Lonzo Ball

“Bro, you ain't healthy.”

(h/t @ClutchPoints ) pic.twitter.com/60c5KGvrNX
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 23, 2023

"The outside noise doesn't bother me," Ball said. "The Stephen A. thing, he has a wide platform. And to me, I just don't appreciate when people put out fake news like that, especially someone of his stature that can touch a lot of people. For me, I know what I gotta do to get back. And I'm just on a path doing what I gotta do every day, taking it step-by-step. I don't look too far ahead. I know in my near future that I will be back on the court for sure."

#Bulls Lonzo Ball’s IQ is absolutely incredible. pic.twitter.com/bPSJ3tfANq
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) August 27, 2023