CHICAGO – After missing the past two-plus NBA seasons due to knee injuries, Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball returned Wednesday for his first game since January 2022.

Ball scored 10 points with one rebound, one assist, one steal and one block to help lead the Bulls to a 125-123 preseason victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the United Center in Chicago.

Ball received a standing ovation from Bulls fans when he checked into the game at the 6:08 mark of the first quarter. About 44 seconds of playing time later, he splashed a corner 3-pointer to another ovation from the home crowd.

The 6-foot-1 point guard only got 15 minutes in his first game back, but said afterward that “playing felt much better than watching.”

“(I) can’t really put into words what it felt like to be out there,” Ball said. “I’m just blessed… Just to see the crowds and all the love I get from the city, there’s no way you can replicate that.”

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Ball, the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, has undergone three arthroscopic procedures on his left knee since suffering an injury in his first season with the Bulls on Jan. 14, 2022. The third of those surgeries was a rare double cartilage transplant in March 2023, which doctors told him would require an 18-month recovery.

“Long. Very long,” Ball said of his recovery process. “But when I look back on it, it went a lot faster than I thought. … They told me 18 more months of recovery, it sounds crazy at the moment but now I’m here. It’s all behind me now.

‘It’s not the same body I started with. But I think I can still be productive and effective on the field. That’s why I still try to play.”

Prior to his knee injury, Ball was averaging 13 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 35 games for the Bulls in his first season with the team since being traded from the New Orleans Pelicans. The five-year NBA veteran previously played two seasons with the Pelicans and his first two seasons with the Lakers.

After the Bulls’ win on Wednesday, Ball was given the game ball by his teammates.

“Today was going to be a special day regardless of the outcome,” Bulls guard Coby White said before handing the game ball to Ball. “Be right back, man. It’s a blessing to be a part of his journey. Many of us have been through all of this and seen the highs and lows. This was a hellish evening for him.”

“I respect you more than anything because of what you’ve been through,” Bulls guard Zach LaVine added. “We love you, we care about you, I’m glad to see you again.”

Ball also noted that his knee wasn’t on his mind while playing in his first NBA game in more than 1,000 days.

“That’s positive,” Ball said. “I didn’t feel it at all. I felt like I was moving great. So now it’s just about building, just keep at it, night and day.”

The Bulls play their final preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the United Center on Friday before the team’s regular season opener at the Pelicans on Oct. 23.