Lonzo Ball makes it clear he's not retiring from the NBA.

== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man

The confusion that started on a podcast

Lonzo Ball had to use Twitter on Wednesday to disprove the retirement rumors that took over social media. The confusion was born from speeches by the owner himself in the podcast "Ball in the Family", which he presents alongside his brother LiAngelo but without him having said at any time that he would hang up his boots.

The 55-minute episode featured Gilbert Arenas recalling the injuries that marked his nine-year professional career, Ball blurted out and internet turned it into a retirement announcement.

"I've never reached my peak", Ball said during the show. "But at the same time, there are a lot of people who don't have anything to eat at night. That's how I learned to see the world. There is still so much for me to do up there: play, put on the shirt, accomplish everything that I wanted as a child. That is enough to make me happy".

Although he has never stated that he intends to retire, speculation ran fast: a post talking about the supposed retirement passed one million views in just hours.

The career interrupted by the knees

Selected second overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers between Markelle Fultz and Jayson Tatum, Ball played only seven seasons over a nine-year career.

In the 2021-22 season, the team started flying: 27-13, leading the Eastern Conference with Ball scoring 13 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game in 35 games.

Ball did not play again until 2024-25 after undergoing several procedures including a cartilage transplant. He played 35 more games before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaac Okoro in June 2025.

The road to here and what comes after

Ball's last season was a rough one, wearing the Cavaliers jersey for 35 games in the final stretch of his two-year contract with the U.S.$ 20 mBefore the trade deadline, Cleveland sent him to the Utah Jazz, who released him shortly thereafter.

Where's the timeline now: Ball, 28, is still free on the market. If he returns to the NBA this season, it will be his eighth year as a pro - something that, in his own words, is exactly what he wants.

The episode makes it clear where the story is at: the retirement announcement never existed, rumors were debunked by the player himself, and Ball continues to treat returning to the league as a concrete goal rather than a farewell.