Lonzo Ball Walks Back Retirement Claims After Seemingly Quitting

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Lonzo Ball would currently be gearing up for his eighth season in the NBA if he were able to find a team that was interested in signing him. He appeared to announce he was done playing basketball, but he walked back those comments while holding out hope he might be able to find a spot on the roster at some point this year.

It’s hard to believe it’s been close to a decade since LaVar Ball burst onto the scene while hyping up the talents of his three sons, Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo, a trio he asserted was on the verge of taking the NBA by storm in the second half of the 2010s.

The first two siblings on that list were playing together at UCLA before the second was suspended over a shoplifting incident in China, and we were subsequently treated to a lengthy family saga involving the rise and fall of Big Baller Brand, a temporary excursion to Lithuania, and the ill-fated Junior Basketball Association.

LiAngelo ultimately pivoted to music, but Lonzo and LaMelo were both able to make it to the NBA. The latter has emerged as the most talented member of the trio, while his older sibling has struggled to bounce back after having his career derailed by a mysterious knee injury.

It seemed like Lonzo had decided to hang up his sneakers while addressing his future earlier this week, and he had to debunk a claim that he was responsible for while asserting he’s not actually done yet.

Lonzo Ball says he’s not retiring after basically saying he was retiring

Lonzo was drafted by the Lakers with the second overall pick in 2017, and he spent two seasons in Los Angeles and two more with the Pelicans before landing on the Bulls.

Unfortunately, his first season in Chicago was cut short by a knee injury he suffered midway through the 2021-22 campaign, and he ultimately missed the rest of the season and two more full ones as doctors attempted to figure out the nature of a setback that managed to baffle them.

He played sparingly after making his grand return in 2025, but it was pretty clear he wasn’t the same player he was before the injury. That remained the case when he played for the Cavaliers last season after being traded, and he’s repeatedly blamed the Big Baller Brand sneakers he wore for contributing to his physical decline.

The eldest Ball brother was traded to the Jazz in February but was waived before appearing in a single game, and he’s been unable to find a new home in the league since then.

Lonzo got to address his current status during a recent episode of the Ball in the Family podcast, which features a segment around the 54:30 mark that was initially captioned “Walking away from basketball” but has since been relabeled to “Lonzo Updates.”

Ball repeatedly referred to his career in the past tense while saying, “I feel like I gave everything I had to hoop,” and many people interpreted those comments as a retirement announcement.

However, he denied that was the case on Wednesday in a tweet where he clarified he’s still on standby if an NBA team needs his services at some point during the upcoming season.