For the first time in nearly three years, Lonzo Ball will put on a Chicago Bulls jersey and enter an NBA game tonight. It’s been 1,006 days since Ball suffered what appeared to be a minor meniscus injury that led to three operations, two seasons on the sidelines and looming doubt over his ability to ever return. But if Ball was feeling any nerves ahead of tonight’s return to the court, he wasn’t admitting it after shootaround at the Advocate Center on Wednesday morning. “I’m just happy to be back,” Ball said ahead of the preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. “I’ve been playing basketball for 20 years so the game hasn’t really changed. I’m just happy to be back on the court.” Lonzo Ball expressed gratitude to the Chicago Bulls for supporting a long-term focus for his recovery. “They could have just pushed me to the side. Instead they’ve been with me the whole way.” pic.twitter.com/r8ATVjStxt — Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) October 16, 2024 Ball has not experienced any setbacks since he returned to five-on-five scrimmaging in August outside of a bout of COVID-19, which kept him off the court ahead of training camp and caused him to lose close to 10 pounds. After getting his weight back up, Ball said he feels strong and prepared to play in a live game. The Bulls are keeping expectations low for Ball’s return to the court. The guard will be held to a firm 16-minute restriction and could play fewer minutes at the discretion of coach Billy Donovan, the team medical staff and Ball himself. Donovan previously said the Bulls wanted to ensure that Ball could withstand a normal length of rotation before he was cleared to play, meaning he will likely take the court in stretches of four to six minutes. Ball is blunt about the realities of his return. He is still experiencing regular soreness in his knee, a nagging constant he will monitor for the remainder of his professional career. And he won’t be the same player on the court — not on Wednesday and maybe not ever. “It’s definitely going to be different,” Ball said. “It’s not the same body I started off with. But I think I can still be productive and effective on the court. That’s why I’m still trying to play. … I feel comfortable out there. So other than that, I just got to hoop.” Still, this is a major milestone for both Ball and the future of sports medicine. No player has ever returned to the NBA — or a major American professional sports league — after undergoing a knee cartilage transplant. Ball received two grafts in his third and final operation, one to fully replace his meniscus and the other to replace the cartilage meant to separate the bone in the knee from other parts of the joint. This combination only increased the severity and rarity of both the treatment and Ball’s odds for a full recovery. As those odds stacked higher, the collective voice of the NBA agreed on the same sentiment: the league is better with Ball. The guard said he received an outpouring of support from teammates and opponents alike, both in public on social media and in private. Ball also voiced gratitude for the Bulls organization, which has continued to emphasize the importance of a slow and steady return to preserve the guard’s health for the rest of his career — even if he doesn’t stay in Chicago. “They could have just pushed me to the side and kept moving,” Ball said. “Instead, they’ve been with me the whole way and given me the best treatment, the best help I can get. All the hard work, it wasn’t just from me. It’s from a collective unit and it all paid off to have me back on the court today.”