Bulls’ Ball reveals he received rare meniscus transplant from donor

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, who hasn’t played in an NBA game since January 2022, spoke Friday about his return from knee problems over the past two years and said part of the recovery involved a meniscus transplant from a donor.

Speaking on his podcast, “The WAE show” Ball said his issues date back to when he first tore his meniscus in 2018, while he was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. After suffering recurring injuries to his left knee, Ball said he ultimately didn’t more cartilage in his knee and needed a meniscus graft last year. It was done at the same time as a cartilage graft in the same knee.

“There was no meniscus left and the bones were rubbing together,” Ball said. “The cartilage was gone and the bone was damaged, so I had to get a new meniscus from a donor. I had to get a bone allograft and I also had to get new cartilage.”

After spending more than a year seeing specialists trying to properly identify the problem in his knee, Ball underwent a cartilage transplant in March 2023, the third surgery on his left knee in the span of a year. Ball and the Bulls said at the time they believed the surgery would give Ball, 26, the best chance to return to the court in the future and ruled him out of this final season in June.

“We were trying to figure out what the problem was, so it was a lost year,” Ball said on the podcast.

Although Ball missed the entire 2023-24 season, he was able to progress in his rehabilitation without experiencing the same discomfort he had in the past during basic exercises like running. Earlier this month, he posted a video to his social media accounts showing him dunk a basketball, and he estimated in a previous episode of the podcast that his knee was at about 70 percent.

“Good enough to play, but it could still get better, I feel like,” Ball said. “I still have a long summer ahead of me, but I’m really looking forward to the future.

Ball exercised his player option earlier this month for the final season of a four-year contract worth $80 million as part of a sign-and-trade deal between New Orleans and Chicago in the summer of 2021. He has only played 35 games for the club. Bulls since, but he expressed optimism about his ability to play at the start of the 2024-25 season.

“I firmly believe that,” Ball said. “That’s my plan and I haven’t had any setbacks. I expect to play the first game.”

The Bulls have remained hopeful for Ball’s return, but he still has a few hurdles to clear before returning to the team. He did not participate in five-on-five scrimmages or play with any physical contact. The Bulls hope he will be able to participate in some team activities later in the offseason before moving into his status for next season.

“We’re just going to wait and see how he progresses in the next few months,” Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas said during his end-of-season news conference in April. “He is progressing well. Everything is happening without setbacks so we will see where he is in a few months.”