Lonzo Ball was on island time — and TikTok — with his girlfriend, model Ally Rossel amid news he could miss the entire 2023-24 season with a lingering knee injury.
The point guard — who underwent cartilage transplant surgery in March, his third surgery in 14 months — vacationed with Rossel in Bora Bora last month, and appeared to be in good spirits while modeling clothes in a TikTok video she posted on Sunday.
“What we wore in Bora Bora,” Rossel wrote over the clip, which included footage of the couple showing off their vacation outfits.
At the end of the video, Ball playfully tapped the model’s behind while they were in the sand and sun.
“First trip ever that I did not overpack,” Rossel, who will celebrate three years of dating Ball in August, added in her caption.
Fans were thrilled in the comments to see Ball “looking good” and “happy.”
The Bulls applied for a disabled player exception for Ball, ESPN and The Athletic reported on Sunday.
The exception allows a team to replace a player who is out for the season, and reportedly would be worth about half of Ball’s salary — around $10.2 million.
The Bulls shut down Ball for the season in February.
The 25-year-old has undergone three knee surgeries since he played his last game on Jan. 14, 2022.
Bulls vice president Arturas Karnišovas said on the night of the 2023 NBA Draft on June 22, that the team did not expect Ball to return for this upcoming season.
“Going into the offseason, I think our expectation is that he’s not coming back next season,” Karnišovas told the media after the draft on Thursday. “And he’s going to continue on his recovery.
“If he comes back, it would be great. But we’re just going to treat this offseason and getting ready for the season that he’s not going to be back next season.”
Ball was diagnosed with a small meniscus tear and bone bruise and underwent arthroscopic surgery in January 2022.
Following a series of setbacks, he was ruled out for the remainder of the 2021-22 season in April, with the team saying he was still experiencing pain with high-level physical activity.
Ball, the former No. 2 overall pick, underwent another arthroscopic debridement surgery in September 2022.
Prior to his second arthroscopic surgery Ball said we couldn’t run or jump at the time.
“Literally, I really can’t run,” Ball said. “I can’t run or jump.
“There’s a range from, like, 30 to 60 degrees when my knee is bent that I have, like, no force and I can’t, like, catch myself. Until I can do those things I can’t play.”
Ball was having stellar season before the injury, which limited him to 35 games in 2021-22.
The 25-year-old averaged 13 points, 5.1 assists and 5.4 rebounds in that span.
Ball underwent a separate arthroscopic procedure on the same knee in July 2018 to address another small meniscus tear.
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