By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Lonzo Ball still wants to ball. The former No. 2 overall pick addressed growing retirement speculation Wednesday after comments from a recent episode of the Ball in the Family podcast were interpreted by some as an indication that he was preparing to step away from basketball.
“I feel like I gave everything I had to hoop, and I feel like everything I got in my life is because of hoop. I’m grateful to even make it to the league and be able to play for nine years,” Ball said during the podcast, reflecting on a career that has been heavily affected by injuries.
Those comments quickly fueled reports that the 28-year-old guard had retired. Ball, however, took to X to set the record straight. “I retired? News to me lol cuz I’m still waiting for a call… NBA season long 🤷🏻♂️”
I retired? News to me lol cuz I’m still waiting for a call… NBA season long 🤷🏻♂️
— Lonzo Ball (@ZO2_) September 23, 2026
The message leaves Ball’s immediate future relatively straightforward: he remains an unrestricted free agent and is still waiting for an NBA team to offer him an opportunity.
Ball’s career has taken a dramatically different path from what many expected when the Los Angeles Lakers selected him second overall in the 2017 NBA Draft.
After beginning his career with the Lakers, Ball played for the New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls before joining the Cleveland Cavaliers. His time in Chicago was particularly disrupted by a serious left-knee injury that required multiple procedures and forced him to miss the entire 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
Ball eventually returned to the NBA, but injuries continued to limit his availability. During the 2025-26 season, he appeared in 35 games and averaged 4.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. He is currently without a team.
The former UCLA standout has also acknowledged that he never reached the level he believed he could have achieved.
“I don’t think I ever got to my peak,” Ball said in the podcast conversation, while discussing the impact his injuries had on his career.
For now, though, Ball’s latest message makes his position clear: retirement is not something he has announced. Instead, he remains available and is waiting for another opportunity to continue his NBA career.
Make