Bulls guard Lonzo Ball had not dunked a ball during an official NBA match since he returned this season from his 3-year absence.

Ball's first dunk in three years is a sign of hope for the point guard and Bulls organization. Ball has had horrible injury luck throughout his eight-year NBA career. The 27-year-old point guard missed the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons entirely due to injury and has already missed 19 games this season.

The Chicago Bulls will be facing the Atlanta Hawks, but they may be without Lonzo Ball, as he's listed on the injury report.

But now he appears to be turning a corner. He played nine of 12 games for Chicago in December and was up to 19.1 minutes per game. And then the dunk, which was clearly a big moment. You can hear it in the voices of the announcers Adam Amin and Stacey King who immediately recognize the moment as something special and celebrate it.

Twelve games into his 2024-25 campaign, Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball averages 5.2 points, 3.6 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 17.5 minutes. In a recent appearance on retired guard Gilbert Arenas’ Gil’s Arena podcast, Ball talked about his minutes restriction.

If LaMelo Ball was able to suit up for tonight's matchup, it would be the first time he and his older brother Lonzo have gone head-to-head since November 29th, 2021. The Bulls are