Former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball plans to return to the court for the first time since the 2021-22 season after injuries prevented him from playing the past two seasons. He was cleared to practice in scrimmages this summer, beginning in August.

Ball has said the injury dates back to his time with the Lakers, when he underwent knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus in July 2018. In January 2022, Ball was diagnosed with a torn meniscus and bone bruise while playing for the Chicago Bulls, where he underwent surgery that same month. He missed the rest of the season and then the next two seasons as he underwent a cartilage transplant in his knee.

This recurring knee problem has stalled the career of one of the league’s most promising players, who previously also missed time with ankle and shoulder injuries. Ball, who began his career in Los Angeles after the Lakers selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft, has had a strong start to his career, averaging 10.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game in his rookie season.

Ball spent one more season with the Lakers before the team traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans for Anthony Davis in 2019. During that first season with the Pelicans, Ball felt like he had become the best point guard in the NBA before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

“Every time I get going, something goes wrong,” Ball said on the What An Experience show. “In the month before COVID, I was the best point guard in the league, in my opinion.”

In the final six games in March before the league temporarily shut down due to the pandemic, Ball delivered the best performance of his career. In those six games, he averaged 20.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He finished the season averaging 11.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game before averaging a career-high 14.6 points per game the following season.

The following summer, Ball was traded to the Bulls, where he played almost half a season before his knee injury became his undoing.

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