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.

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

The Chicago Bulls may have lost in demoralizing fashion to start the year of 2025 after the Washington Wizards defeated them, 125-107, but they can still at least take a major positive heading back home.

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.