Lonzo Ball: 'I Can Still Compete at a High Level' with Bulls After Knee Injury Return

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is confident he can return to occupying a meaningful role for the team after persistent knee trouble kept him out for two-plus NBA seasons.

"I honestly feel like I just can give good minutes on the court, however that may be," he said on NBA Today. "I just want to help the team win. There's nothing that I really want to do stat-wise. It's just going out there and doing my job, and I feel like I can still compete at a high level. That's why I wanted to come back."

Ball's last appearance in the regular season was in January 2022. Since then, he has undergone three separate surgeries on his left knee, which collectively raised concerns over his future as a player.

The 26-year-old made his long-awaited return in Chicago's 125-123 preseason win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. He came off the bench to play 15 minutes and finished with 10 points and one rebound, assist, steal and block apiece.

During a September appearance on 670 The Score's Mully & Haugh Show, head coach Billy Donovan pointed to how a lot of variables are still at play when it comes to Ball's usage and availability even with him back healthy.

"The thing that [executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas] mentioned, which is critical, is we don't know how he's going to respond after games, after practices," Donovan said. "Because we haven't seen it. That's where we first got to start off with.

"Is it something where he plays 15 to 20 minutes and now he's got to take the next day off? Can he play 25 to 30 minutes? How does he respond? The back-to-backs, we don't know any of those things. So we're going to wait to find out."

Suiting up against Minnesota was a massive step in Ball's comeback but far from the final point in his process to become a dynamic two-way presence again.