Lonzo Ball looking forward to getting back on the court: "It's going to be a whole new joy again"

Lonzo Ball has his eyes set on an NBA return.

© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

If and when Lonzo Ball returns to the Chicago Bulls during the 2024-2025 NBA season, it will have been nearly three years since he last played in the league. That's an eternity of basketball that the once-dynamic point guard will miss due to a knee injury he suffered in January of 2022. It caused him to undergo three surgeries, with the last one being a cartilage transplant procedure in April. Though it's tough to keep optimism during these lost seasons, Lonzo says he's looking forward to the day he'll come back.

"It's going to be a whole new joy again," Ball said during his appearance on the podcast of Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young.

Hooper all his life

Basketball is all Lonzo has known ever since he grew up as a young star in Chino Hills, California. From high school to UCLA and all the way to the pros, Lonzo has always cherished playing the game until it got taken away from him that fateful January night in San Francisco.

"I always just love playing basketball. So it's basically just something that got taken away from me," Lonzo said. "It's going to be a whole new joy again. I'm gonna be hella happy to be back out there. I ain't never took the game for granted. For me, it's just like getting your love back for sure."

Tackling rehab head-on

Lonzo knows the road back to the NBA isn't going to be easy. There will be no days off, nor are there shortcuts if he wants to recapture the form that made him one of the most lethal two-way players in the league. That said, Lonzo says he's embracing the challenges before him in the hope that one day, he'll be able to play NBA basketball again.

"I wish I never got injured to be honest. I wouldn't want to come back. But that's just what's in front of me. And I just gotta tackle it head on. And whenever that time comes, I'm going to be blessed to be back out there doing what I love. The mindset is going to stay the same, go out there and play for my team and be the best person I can be."