Bulls Loosen Increasingly Confident Lonzo Ball's Minutes Restriction at His Request

After missing two full seasons of basketball, Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball's road back to game action has been a tentative one. The 20.9 minutes per game he's averaging this season are substantially down from any other year of his career.

However, it appears that Ball has taken a critical step toward returning to his pre-2022 normality.

According to Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune—reporting from the Bulls' media availability before their game against the Toronto Raptors Friday—Ball's minutes restriction has been increased to 28 minutes at the guard's request.

"(Ball) went to the Bulls medical team to ask for his minutes to be increased," Poe wrote on social media. "Feels really confident in his body and endurance right now."

Lonzo Ball is up to a 28-minute playing time restriction now.

He went to the Bulls medical team to ask for his minutes to be increased. Feels really confident in his body and endurance right now.
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) January 31, 2025

Each of Chicago's last five games have ranked among Ball's top 11 games of the season by minutes played. His 18 points on Monday against the Denver Nuggets were his most since Jan. 11, 2022 against the Detroit Pistons.

The Bulls are currently 20-28, 10th in the Eastern Conference and one game clear of the Philadelphia 76ers for its final play-in spot.