LeBron James Surprised Lonzo Ball's Speed, Bounce Back so Soon Post-Knee Surgery

Lonzo Ball is just two months removed from arthroscopic knee surgery, but as he has made his way back to the court, he has made an incredible first impression on one of his newest teammates.

"I didn't know he was gonna be full go so fast," LeBron James said on Saturday, according to ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk. "He's been going through live drills the last 2½ days. His bounce is there. His speed is there."

In fact, the point guard's performance thus far has the four-time NBA MVP questioning if there actually was an operation.

"So I don't even know if he even had surgery," James added, per Youngmisuk.

Even Los Angeles coach Luke Walton was "shocked how good [Ball] looked," Youngmisuk noted.

Ball went under the knife back in mid-July after being diagnosed with a torn left meniscus in late June, and as it was deemed a successful surgery, his timeline for a return put him healthy enough to participate in training camp. As of last week, he was medically cleared to return to full basketball activities, according to Spectrum SportsNet's Mike Trudell.

However, the Lakers have made it clear they would not rush the second-year guard into live action. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka revealed that it remains to be seen if Ball will be available for the season opener, Oct. 18 against the Portland Trail Blazers, per SportsNet's Mike Bresnahan.

"It's impossible to predict the future when you're coming back from an injury," Pelinka said on Sept. 20, according to Bresnahan.

That's a stance Walton reiterated this week.

"We're gonna be patient," Walton said, per Youngmisuk. "No need to rush it right now. We'll put minutes restrictions on him as he starts coming back in the preseason. And everything will be, 'How do you feel?' the next day, 'How do you feel?' that night. As long we keep checking those off and he's fine, the minutes restrictions will go up and up until we decide to get rid of it altogether."

Should Ball not be ready to play, veteran Rajon Rondo will likely be the starting point guard.