LeBron impressed by Lonzo's progress recovering from July knee surgery
After engaging in full-contact practices this week for the first time since undergoing offseason knee surgery, Lonzo Ball's recovery has caught the attention of his new Los Angeles Lakers teammate, LeBron James.
"I didn't know he was gonna be full go so fast," said James of the 20-year-old point guard following Saturday's practice, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "He's been going through live drills the last 2 1/2 days. His bounce is there. His speed is there.
"So I don't even know if he even had surgery," he added, jokingly.
Ball received an injection of platelet-rich plasma in his knee following his rookie season with Los Angeles, later undergoing arthroscopic surgery in July. He returned to full-contact practice Thursday.
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He won't be in uniform Sunday against the Denver Nuggets in the Lakers' preseason opener for precautionary reasons.
"We're gonna be patient," head coach Luke Walton said. "No need to rush it right now. We'll put minutes restrictions on him as he starts coming back in the preseason. And everything will be, 'How do you feel?' the next day, 'How do you feel?' that night. As long we keep checking those off and he's fine, the minutes restrictions will go up and up until we decide to get rid of it altogether."
"[There's] nothing with the injury now. It's just the fact that he hasn't played in a long time. We want to make sure we bring him back slow."