It has been one of the top feel-good stories from the 2024-25 season to see Lonzo Ball on the basketball court. Prior to this season, the 27-year-old last stepped foot in an NBA game on January 14, 2022. Ball was unable to get his left knee back to being healthy enough to play, sidelining him for more than two-and-a-half years. Unfortunately, Chicago Bulls fans haven’t seen him in a while as he last appeared in a game on February 28. It seems as if Lonzo Ball is trending towards a return to action on Friday night though in a matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Lonzo Ball Return Comes At Crucial Time For Bulls
Has Been Out With A Right Wrist Sprain
The second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Ball has missed each of Chicago’s last 16 outings. A right wrist sprain has kept him from being able to play. It seems as if his streak of consecutive missed games won’t stretch to 17 though. He will likely be on a minutes restriction if he does return on Friday.
Lonzo Ball participated fully in shootaround and is trending toward making his return as soon as tonight. He’ll be on minutes restriction.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) April 4, 2025
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The 6-foot-6 point guard will re-enter a Bulls backcourt that has excelled of late while he has been out. Since Ball has been out, Josh Giddey has been playing marvelous basketball. In his last 11 outings sans Ball, the 22-year-old has posted stellar averages of 20.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, 9.3 assists, and 1.6 steals. Coby White has played in all 16 games with Ball shelved with injury. In that timeframe, the 25-year-old has averaged 27.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists.
Chicago was also receiving solid guard play from Tre Jones, although he has missed Chicago’s last six contests with a left foot sprain. The team has gone 10-6 during their last 16 games with Ball absent from the lineup. Ball also missed 15 games, mostly in November, with the same right wrist sprain.
Bulls Looking To Move Up In Standings
While it has been great to see Ball after his lengthy absence, it has been another season where he has missed much time. The Chino Hills native would have to play in each of the Bulls remaining six games just to have appeared in half of their 82 contests. In his 35 outings in 2024-25, he has posted averages of 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 steals. Ball has shot 36.6% from the field, 34.4% from beyond the arc, and 81.5% from the free-throw line.
His shooting accuracy numbers show that Ball has not scored the ball efficiently, but the team has been better with him on the court. The Bulls are outscoring their opponents by 6.5 points per 100 possessions with Ball on the floor. In early February, Chicago agreed on a two-year extension with the floor general worth $20 million.
With six games remaining, the Bulls are already guaranteed to be in the Play-In Tournament. It is the third straight year they will be taking part in it. At 34-42, they are 10th in the Eastern Conference, They are a half-game behind the ninth-seeded Miami Heat (also two games behind the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks). Moving up to ninth would allow Chicago to have a home game to start the tournament.
Photo credit: © Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
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