CHICAGO — (AP) — When the moment finally arrived, after multiple knee surgeries and one grueling rehab, Lonzo Ball raised his right arm and blew a kiss to the cheering crowd.

Fans rose to their feet as the announcement echoed through the arena: “Checking in for the Chicago Bulls! No. 2! Lonzo Ball!”

It was a moment nearly three years in the making.

Ball made his long-awaited return, scoring 10 points in 15 minutes in the Bulls' 125-123 preseason victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. The point guard also had an assist, a steal and a block in his first appearance since Jan. 14, 2022.

“It felt a lot better playing than watching, I'll say that much,” he said. “I can't even really put into words how I felt out there.”

Ball, who turns 27 on Oct. 27, underwent a cartilage and meniscus transplant in his left knee last year after several procedures failed to fix his injury. He thought he “was moving great” and the knee gave him no trouble “at all.”

Ball got a rousing ovation when he subbed in for Josh Giddey following a timeout midway through the first quarter. It didn't take Ball long to make an impact. He nailed an open 3-pointer from the left corner off a feed from a driving Nikola Vucevic with 5:25 left in the period, drawing another big roar from the crowd.

“Just blessed, man,” Ball said. “There were a lot of people that helped me get here, not just myself. Just to see the crowd and all the love I get from the city, man, you cannot replicate that in any type of way. And it's real.”

Several players expressed their support and respect for Ball in the team's postgame meeting. Coby White presented the game ball and LaVine handed Ball a jersey that appeared to be signed by the team.

The Bulls have one more exhibition against Cleveland on Friday before opening the season at New Orleans on Oct. 23. Ball said he will “for sure” play against the Cavaliers. He will start the season on a minutes restriction and won't play games on back-to-back days.

The Bulls had Ball on a 16-minute limit against Minnesota. They planned to have him get two roughly four-minute stints per half. But after playing nearly six minutes in the third quarter, he sat the rest of the way.

“I just give him a lot of credit,” coach Billy Donovan said. “It was probably a lot, coming back being out for 2 1/2 years. You're playing your first game. I know it's not the regular season yet, but still, for him to get out in an NBA game — I know he's put a lot of work in to get himself ready for this moment.”

The Bulls are still trying to get a handle on how much activity leads to soreness for Ball, let alone how the knee will respond to playing in a game. Chicago also has a crowd in the backcourt, with Coby White coming off a breakthrough season and Giddey in the mix following a trade from Oklahoma City.

Ball's tenure in Chicago got off to a good start following a sign-and-trade deal with New Orleans prior to the 2021-22 season. He averaged 13 points and 5.1 assists while shooting 42.3% on 3-pointers over 35 games before being derailed.

The Bulls initially thought Ball had a minor meniscus injury. But it turned out to be much more severe.

Ball had a cartilage transplant in March 2023, his third operation on the knee in a little more than a year. He revealed on his podcast last May that the surgery was more extensive.

Ball said he got a new meniscus to go with the cartilage transplant. He also underwent a bone allograft, where the replacement bone comes from another person. Ball said the issues dated to when he tore his meniscus in 2018 as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Now — finally — he's playing again. Did he ever doubt this day would come?

“Not really, to be honest," he said. “I had a goal to get back on the court. I know it was a long journey, a long process, but it all paid off because this was what I was looking forward to. I'm just glad it's here now. I can finally go out and do what I love to do.”

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.