Two Years After Surgery, Bulls’ Lonzo Ball Hosts Family Of Knee Cartilage Donor

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball suffered a torn meniscus in January 2022. It was Ball’s fifth season in the NBA, his first with the Bulls, and nobody could have foreseen that the injury would sideline him for the better part of the next three seasons.

He underwent at least three additional surgeries in the next year after experiencing significant pain during physical rehabilitation. The last procedure was a knee cartilage transplant. Two years later, Ball was able to make a full return, and he hosted the family of his cartilage donor at Wednesday’s 119-111 win over the Miami Heat.

The donor, Alex Reinhardt, died in February 2023 at age 20. In the years since, the Reinhardts have received messages of gratitude from donor recipients, including Ball.

“It’s been extremely emotional,” said Reinhardt’s mother Angie. “So much happiness comes with it, too. All of the people that are donor recipients of Alex’s, we’re just blessed. We’ve had mothers from some people that have said things. Now we get to meet Lonzo. It’s just a blessing to be able to watch people do well with their knees or anything because of Alex. Of course, we wish he was here.”

While a sprained wrist kept Ball from playing in the game, he took pictures and signed jerseys with Reinhardt’s parents, siblings, and soon-to-be sister-in-law. At one point, he tugged up the hem of his sweatpants to show his scarred knee to the family, saying, “It changed my life.”

Angie Reinhardt is an occupational therapist, and her husband, Carl, is a medical sales representative. They understand the miracle of Ball’s return to the NBA, where he’s been able to play 35 games this season – and that it wouldn’t have been possible without Alex.

“To be able to keep helping people after his death really feels like a blessing to all of us,” said Angie.

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Article by Katherine Manz