The last time Lonzo Ball of the Chicago Bulls played an NBA game was on January 14, 2022. He has missed the whole 2022-23 season and may miss the 2023-24 season because of knee injuries.

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith had earlier said Ball may never be the same player he was before the injury and he heard that "it's even hard for" Ball to "get up from the sitting position." Ball disagreed with him and posted a video on social media in response. He stood up from a seated position using only his left leg in the video.

"I'm going to play again," Ball said at Invest Fest in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday. "The outside noise doesn't bother me. The Stephen A. thing, you know, he has a wide platform. And to me, I just don't appreciate when people put out fake news like that, especially someone of his stature that can touch a lot of people. It's just putting out the wrong thing. That's beside the point."

Ball was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the second-overall pick in 2017. He played two years for the purple and gold before being sent to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Anthony Davis trade. Having finished the rookie contract in the Pelicans, he joined the Bulls in 2021 via sign-and-trade. He inked a four-year, $85-million deal with the Bulls.

Before knee injuries held him from court, Ball averaged 13 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 3.1 triples at 42.3 percent per game for the Bulls. Considering that he had to share the ball with two high-volume isolation scorers, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, Ball did well in implementing his duties including driving fast break, stretching the floor and guarding the opponents' back court ace.

Before Ball underwent his latest surgery in March, he seemed frustrated at his knee complications, but now he seems to have found peace with it.

"You have to realize it's just part of life," Ball said. "Life is not easy. And if you want to get the most out of it, you have to (push) yourself forward and put your best foot forward. So for me, even when I get knocked down, you've got to get back up every time if you want to keep going."

"You can always quit, take the easy way out and pout and go to the side. But for me, if you're trying to get to a place where I want to get to, you've just got to get back up, go dust off and keep going," he added.

Ball has the $21.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season. The Bulls were 40-42 last season and missed the playoffs. They signed a three-year, $60-million extension with Nicola Vucevic. LaVine still has three years left of his current five-year, $215-million contract with the team. DeRozan is in the final year of his deal with the team.

The Bulls may be at the significant crossroads in summer 2024 to decide if they want a rebuild by letting certain players go.