Lonzo Ball, drafted No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017, was reportedly retiring from the NBA at age 28 after a left knee injury wiped out what should have been the prime of his career. But then he threw a syrorsing twist into those reports.
The retirement speculation was sparked Wednesday from Ball’s own podcast. No official retirement notice with the NBA has surfaced publicly.
Then, in a surprising announcement given his statements Wednesday after retirement reports surfaced, Ball took to social media to deny that his career was over.
“I retired? News to me lol cuz I’m still waiting for a call,” Ball posted. “NBA season long.”
But Ball’s statements reported Wednesday certainly pointed in that direction, and the seeming end of his career revived a question that has haunted the Lakers for almost a decade. Why didn’t they draft Jayson Tatum?
The Boston Celtics held the No. 1 draft pick that season, but traded it to the Philadelphia 76ers, moving down to No. 3. After the Sixers selected Markelle Fultz first overall, the Lakers took Ball, leaving Tatum available for Boston.
“I don’t think I ever got to my peak, and damn, that s— sucks, but at the same time there’s people that don’t have meals at night to eat. That’s how I look at the world,” Ball said Wednesday, as quoted by Basketball Forever.
“I feel like I gave everything I had to hoop, and I feel like everything I got in my life is because of hoop. I’m grateful to even make it to the league and be able to play for nine years,” Ball added, according to a Sporting News quote.
Those nine years include two he missed completely.
Ex-Laker Lonzo Ball Suffered Devastating Knee Injury
Ball tore his left meniscus in January 2022 as a member of the Chicago Bulls. After failed repairs, a March 2023 procedure gave him a donor meniscus and cartilage implant, according to an EssentiallySports report. He sat out the entire 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
Ball’s comeback produced 35 games in Chicago, then 35 more with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, when he averaged 4.6 points on 30.1% shooting, according to Fadeaway World. Cleveland shipped him to the Utah Jazz at the Feb. 5 trade deadline, and Utah waived him.
League personnel doubted Ball would play again because of his medical records, Fadeaway World wrote.
Ball averaged 10.2 points and 7.2 assists as a Lakers rookie out of UCLA. Dealt to New Orleans in the 2019 Anthony Davis trade, he posted 13.1 points and 6.4 assists across 118 games with the Pelicans. His career closes at 322 games, with averages of 10.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists.
“I guess that would be my one regret, like taking control of my career earlier,” Ball said last month on Michael Porter Jr.’s podcast, as quoted by ClutchPoints NBA writer Jedd Pagaduan. He was referring to the Big Baller Brand phase of his early career, when his father, LaVar Ball, made his business decisions.
Why the Lakers Picked Ball Over Tatum
Magic Johnson ran the Lakers’ front office in 2017. Why did he select Ball over Tatum, who now has an NBA championship and four first-team All-NBA selections to his name?
“We were top-heavy in forwards, I couldn’t take him,” Johnson said in December 2024, as quoted by Lakers Nation.
Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle already started at forward. The Lakers had also traded D’Angelo Russell and needed a point guard. Johnson added that Tatum’s agent refused a Lakers workout.
Tatum owns five total All-NBA selections — getting a third-team nod in 2020 — and a 2024 championship with the Boston Celtics, though a torn Achilles cost him most of last season. He has averaged 23.5 points per game over 601 games.
Fultz, taken first by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2017, has 260 career games at 10.2 points each. He remains unsigned after a 10-day deal with the Toronto Raptors.
Ex-Lakers Lonzo Ball Announces Surprising Decision on Apparent Retirement