Lonzo Ball Likely to Return in 2025 Though Specific Date Remains Fluid, per Report

June 4, 2024 Jimm Sallivan

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball’s hypothetical return to game action has been a long time coming.

Ball played his last basketball game on Jan. 14, 2022 — a 138-96 loss in Chicago to a Golden State Warriors team that went on to win the NBA title. Since then, his once-promising career has been derailed by a nagging knee injury.

However, there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The Bulls expect Ball to return at some point during the 2025 season, according to a Tuesday afternoon report from Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.

“Team officials are confident Ball, out since Jan. 14, 2022, due to a chronic knee ailment, will play next season. They’re just not as confident about when,” Mayberry wrote. “Opening night doesn’t sound likely.”

Ball will turn 27 on Oct. 27; he was just 24 in Jan. 2022. If the former Los Angeles Laker and New Orleans Pelican can summon even a fraction of his early-career magic upon his return, Chicago fans will be in for a treat.

4 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Chicago Bulls, DeMar DeRozan Have Mutual Interest in New Contract This Summer

Chicago Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but there is mutual interest between franchise and player for DeRozan to return to Chicago on a new contract this offseason, according to a report from Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.

The-soon-to-be 35-year-old DeRozan spoke glowingly about his three seasons with the franchise following the trade deadline in February, and according to Mayberry, DeRozan has reiterated his interest in a return to the front office.

DeRozan compared his impending free agency to a relationship with a spouse:
“It’s, like, ‘What we need to do to work on this, baby? Let’s figure this thing out. You want me. I want you.’ The love is there.” pic.twitter.com/zgYOL3lw2q
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) February 8, 2024

The Bulls have been willing to offer DeRozan a two-year deal, but the veteran covets more security than a two-year deal given his age. There is a belief that a new contract would exceed $40 million annually, as DeRozan remains a very good player in his mid-30s.

The reliable DeRozan played in 79 games for Chicago this season, and averaged 24.0 points per game with 5.3 assists and 4.3 assists on 48.0% shooting.

6 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Biggest Blowout in NBA Finals History: A Full Breakdown

When most sports fans picture the NBA Finals, they picture iconic moments in close games. Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan's iconic shot in Game 6 in 1998. Los Angeles Lakers guard Magic Johnson's so-called "junior, junior skyhook." Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James's block in 2016.

These memories obscure the fact that there has been a lot of slop on basketball's biggest stage. Did you know, for example, that there have only been five NBA Finals Game 7s in the last 30 years?

This article is a celebration of the Finals's unsightlier moments. Here are a few questions about the NBA's championship series beatdowns, answered.

On June 7, 1998, the Bulls smashed the Utah Jazz 96–54 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals to take a 2–1 series lead.

Pretty much out of nowhere! Chicago and the Jazz had played in the 1997 Finals and the series was competitive, with no game decided by more than 12 points. Utah won Game 1 in '98 88–85 in overtime, and the Bulls won Game 2 by five.

Chicago led just 17–14 after the first quarter in Game 3 but pushed its lead to 49-31 at the half. The Jazz's final total of 54 points represented, at the time, the lowest point total of the shot-clock era in any game—regular season or postseason.

The Bulls' 42-point margin of victory is an NBA Finals record. Predictably, Jordan led both teams with 24 points.

The second-most lopsided game will be more familiar to younger fans: the Boston Celtics' 131–92 win over the Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 Finals. That game gave the Celtics their most recent title, and remains basketball's most lopsided championship clincher.

Rounding out the top five biggest Finals margins of victory: Game 3 in 2013 (San Antonio Spurs 113, Miami Heat 77), Game 6 in 1978 (Washington Bullets 117, Seattle SuperSonics 82), Game 1 in 1985 (Boston 148, Los Angeles 114; the so-called Memorial Day Massacre), and Game 1 in 1961 (Celtics 129, St. Louis Hawks 95).

9 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Chet Walker, Hall of Fame NBA Forward of 1960s and 1970s, Dies at 84

Chet Walker—a Hall of Fame forward for two NBA teams in the 1960s and 1970s—died Saturday, according to a Saturday evening report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that cited the NBPA. He was 84.

One of the most consistent performers of his era, Walker never averaged fewer than 12.3 or more than 22 points per game in a season.

A native of Bethlehem, Miss., Walker played collegiately for Bradley. He averaged 24.4 points per game in a spectacular three-year career with the Braves, still the fourth-highest average in Missouri Valley history.

The Syracuse Nationals drafted Walker 12th in 1962; he played one season with the franchise before their 1963 move to Philadelphia. Walker made three All-Star teams in six seasons with the rechristened Philadelphia 76ers, and helped the team win a title in 1967.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame forward Chet Walker — a seven-time All-Star and a member of the Chicago Bulls Ring of Honor — has passed away at 84, per @TheNBPA. Walker won an NBA championship with Philadelphia in 1967 and was a two-time All-American at Bradley. pic.twitter.com/sv1ct73YAK
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 9, 2024

Walker spent his last six years on the Chicago Bulls, with whom he made four more All-Star teams. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Bulls' Ring of Honor in 2024.

US Sports News

Lonzo Ball Likely to Return in 2025 Though Specific Date Remains Fluid, per Report

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