Ball was limited to fifteen minutes but finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in Chicago’s preseason win against Minnesota.
“I felt a lot better playing than watching,” Ball said of the sport at the time. “I couldn’t even put into words what it felt like to be out there… It was definitely a moment I’ll never forget.”
Since playing his last NBA game more than 1,000 days ago, Ball has undergone three arthroscopic procedures on his left knee, including an extraordinary double cartilage transplant in March 2023.
“Long. Really long,” Ball mentioned, mocking his medication procedure. “But looking back, it was a lot quicker than I thought… They told me I had 18 more months of recovery left.” [after the third surgery] It sounds crazy right now, but I’m here now. “It’s all behind us now.”
Last Wednesday, Ball said he was “overjoyed” to get ready for a game again, but also said he would no longer be the same player he was when he last took the court in January 2022.
“It’s not the same body I started with,” Ball said after Wednesday’s shootaround. “But I think I can still be productive and effective on the court. That’s why I’m still trying to play.”
And on Wednesday night, Ball made a splash every time he stepped on the court. He missed his first shot of the game, a corner 3-pointer, and the closest one raised three arms as he ran across the floor. He stole the ball from Julius Randle on another property and dove into the Bulls’ bench to prevent it from going out of bounds.
It was once an old Ball performance. In his first season in Chicago in 2021-22, Ball averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists on 42% shooting in 35 games. And in his first game he again did a little bit of everything on the court: accumulating a penalty, a steal, an assist and a rebound.
“I thought it looked great,” Bulls teacher Billy Donovan said. “There’s a lot of things he does in the game that don’t really require anything with his knee or his body, he uses his brain a lot. He moved very, very well.”
And the most important thing for both him and the Bulls is that he wasn’t thinking about his month of playing with his knee.
“That’s a positive thing,” Ball said. “I didn’t feel it at all. I felt like I was moving really well. So now it’s just about building, keep doing it night and night.”
Donovan said the Bulls will monitor Ball’s knee to see how he reacts to his first play move, and he’ll almost certainly have a bright life next Thursday. Ball said he also plans to play games in Friday’s preseason finale against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I think he’s going to need to play,” Donovan said. “That’s the normal rhythm of the NBA, playing every other day.”
During the medication process, Ball, who will be 27 years old after this past, was certain he would return to the courtroom, seeking reports from more than one knee expert until he found a path to medication.
“I think it’s self-confidence: knowing what I was feeling, knowing I was at a good age to recover,” Ball said. “I just trust the doctors and the people around me.”
In August, Ball was cleared to play 5-on-5 scrimmages. He arrived at the Bulls facility a few weeks before training camp to begin working with the rest of the team. He had anticipated making his preseason debut earlier in the schedule, but once he was ready again a few days later he tested positive for COVID-19.
Ball has also had bouts of soreness during the preseason, which he said is to be expected. He emphasized that both he and the team must monitor their workload and performance participation this season.
“We have a good handle right now, but I think it’s going to change throughout the year,” Ball said. “Every day will be a different challenge that we’ll just have to overcome.”
