LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 15: The Lakers’ Lonzo Ball #2 during their game against the Bulls at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan 15, 2019. The Lakers defeated the Bulls 100-107. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Lonzo Ball has become the second Los Angeles Laker to be told his season would come to an end because of injury, making a bleak situation bleaker.
First, it was Brandon Ingram. Now, Lonzo Ball has become the latest Los Angeles Laker to have his season come to an end because of injury.
The second-year guard, who was just beginning to grow into his game beside LeBron James, has been shut down for the season, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
This news hasn’t actually caught Laker Nation by surprise. On Friday, Mar. 8, Lakers head coach Luke Walton hinted to the media that Ball could be lost for the season due to an ankle injury he sustained in a loss to the Houston Rockets on Jan. 19.
Ball had his right ankle re-evaluated by doctors, and the conclusion, apparently, was that Ball needed to shut it down for the season in order for the ankle to heal properly. It could also be apparent that the Lakers chose to sit Ball out for the rest of year because they’re no longer in the playoff chase.
The Lakers sit seven and a half games in back of the eight-seed San Antonio Spurs, and barring a historic collapse by San Antonio, the Lakers will miss the playoffs in a season that once held a ton of promise.
Ball wasn’t the only Laker that was ruled out for the rest of the season on Saturday. Ingram will also sit out the rest of the year because of a blood clot, which only makes the Lakers situation that much bleaker. As with Ball, it’s unclear if he’ll be back in a Lakers uniform next season, and Magic Johnson is expected to make some big changes to the Lakers lineup this summer.