In a chat on the ‘WAE Show,’ Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball reflected on his place among the best guards in the league. According to Ball, there was a point before the 2020 COVID lockdown when he considered himself the best in the world at his position.
“Every time I catch my stride, something goes wrong I ain’t gonna cap,” said Ball. “Either I get hurt or that one year I was in New Orleans, COVID came out of nowhere. If you look back on that month before COVID, if you ask me I’m the best point guard in the league.”
Ball hasn’t played in some time, but he was deep in his bag leading up to the COVID hiatus. In the 16 games that month, Ball averaged 14.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game on 61% shooting. Sadly, the season was cut short when COVID-19 ravaged the world and the Pelicans did not get an invitation to the Orlando bubble since they were 13th in the standings.
That season was Lonzo’s first with the Pelicans and was also his healthiest one to date. In 63 games played (career high), he averaged 11.8 points, 7.0 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game on 40.3% shooting. Of course, as good as those numbers are, you’d be hard-pressed to find a fan who called him the best point guard in the league at the time.
That year, between Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, and Russell Westbrook, there is a strong case to be made that Lonzo wasn’t even a top-three point guard at the time. Nevertheless, Lonzo was still a valuable two-way player and a major piece of the Pelicans’ rotation. Had the season been played out normally, Ball might have been able to carry the momentum into the next campaign.
Sadly, when the former All-Rookie guard went to the Bulls in 2021, things took a turn for the worst. After a promising start with Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, when they led the Bulls to the top seed in the East, Lonzo went down with a knee injury that continues to hold him back today.
Since the 2020-21 season, Lonzo has played just 35 games and the Bulls have struggled to keep up ever since. With no hope of competing for anything besides the play-in tournament, the Bulls have been impatiently waiting for Lonzo’s recovery and they are hopeful that next season will be the one they have their full rotation intact.
If Ball can live up to his potential and pick up where he left off years ago, it could put the Bulls in a favorable position in the East. But unless he’s able to stay healthy, there will be some major concerns and doubts for Ball that he can live up to expectations as a former 2nd overall pick.
Clearly, the 26-year-old point guard is confident that he can prove himself as one of the best at his position but it will be easier said than done to make up for all the ground he’s lost.
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