Lonzo Ball has denied that he is retiring from the NBA after comments on his injury-plagued career during a recent podcast appearance appeared to strongly suggest he was done playing basketball.
The former No. 2 overall pick addressed the confusion Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter, after his comments on the latest episode of the “Ball in the Family” podcast began circulating.
“I retired? News to me lol cuz I’m still waiting for a call… NBA season long 🤷🏻♂️”
Ball's response makes clear that the 28-year-old remains interested in continuing his NBA career and is waiting for another opportunity after spending the 2025-26 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The retirement speculation stemmed from Ball reflecting on his career and explaining why he was at peace with everything he accomplished despite injuries preventing him from reaching what he considered his peak.
“It wasn’t as hard as probably people would think only because I felt like I never shortchanged the game. I feel like I gave everything I had to hoop and I feel like everything I got in my life is because of hoop so I’m grateful to even make it to the league and even be able to play for nine years, you feel me? That’s how I look at it. I kind of look at halfway full, not halfway empty type of thing.”
"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 9 years."
– Lonzo Ball
(via @ballinthefampod)pic.twitter.com/aLaDyI13gJ https://t.co/MHQHQhlbDz
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 23, 2026
Ball also expressed gratitude for the financial security he received before his lengthy battle with knee injuries.
“I’m also grateful that I got to sign that $82 (million) before that sh*t happened. Like that helped a lot too, honestly.”
The Los Angeles Lakers selected Ball with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft following his lone season at UCLA. He spent two seasons with Los Angeles before being included in the 2019 trade that sent Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Lakers.
Lonzo Ball reflects on injury battle while awaiting NBA opportunity
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Ball spent two seasons with New Orleans before joining the Chicago Bulls in 2021. His career took a dramatic turn after he suffered a left knee injury in January 2022.
The injury required multiple procedures and kept Ball out for more than two full seasons. He missed the entire 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns before completing an improbable comeback with Chicago in October 2024.
Ball appeared in 35 games during his comeback season before spending the 2025-26 campaign with Cleveland. He played another 35 games for the Cavaliers, averaging 4.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 20.8 minutes per game.
Across nine NBA seasons, Ball has appeared in 322 regular-season games with the Lakers, Pelicans, Bulls and Cavaliers.
While reflecting on what injuries potentially took away from his career, Ball said he remained grateful for what basketball allowed him to accomplish.
“To be honest, I don’t think I ever got to my peak and it’s like damn, that sht sucks, but at the same time there’s people that don’t have meals at night to eat type sht. That’s how I look at the world so it’s like damn, I still got to make it up there and got to play and put the jersey on and do everything I wanted to do as a kid, you feel me? So that was enough for me to be happy.”
Those comments may have sounded like a player reflecting on a completed career, but Ball's subsequent clarification removed the ambiguity surrounding his immediate plans. He has not retired and remains available as he waits to see whether another NBA team comes calling.