Lonzo Ball cleared the air about his NBA future Wednesday after his own comments on a recent podcast led people to believe he retired from basketball.
In an episode of the Ball in the Family Podcast with Lonzo & Gelo Ball
, released Tuesday, Lonzo discussed the effects of injuries on his career with Gilbert Arenas. But his past-tense reflection of things led some people to believe he was done playing."I feel like I never short-changed 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," Ball said.
He later continued: "I don't think I ever got to my peak. ... At the same time, there's a lot of
people that don't have meals at night to eat. That's how I look at the world. So, it's like, 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. So that was enough for me."
For anyone who took his words out of context, Ball wrote a message on X to make it completely clear he's not done.
I retired? News to me lol cuz I’m still waiting for a call… NBA season long 🤷🏻♂️
— Lonzo Ball (@ZO2_) September 23, 2026
"I retired? News to me lol cuz I'm still waiting for a call... NBA season long," he wrote.
He's not wrong. The season is long. Though he's currently a free agent, someone will need a veteran guard at some point in the year.
What were Lonzo Ball's stats last year?
Ball suffered through the worst season of his career in 2025-26, averaging 4.6 points on 30 percent from the field and 27 percent from three, 4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 35 games with three starts for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Is Lonzo Ball retired? NBA star clears up mixed messages on his future
