Former point guard of the Los Angeles Lakers, Lonzo Ball, will make his return to the court this week. Ball is expected to play this Wednesday in a preseason game for the first time since early in 2022.

During the 2024 NBA offseason, several trades that nearly happened can still to frution at some point before the 2025 NBA trade deadline.

Ball then signed a four-year, $80 million contract in a sign-and-trade which landed him with the Chicago Bulls. He continued his strong play, teaming up with DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic to lead the Bulls to the top seed in the Eastern Conference until Ball went down with an injury.

And there’s never been an era in NBA history where it’s been harder. Here are the last six NBA champions, in order: Toronto, the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee, Golden State, Denver and now Boston. That’s six different title-winning franchises in six seasons,

Last year, the Boston Celtics became the sixth different team to win a championship in the past six seasons. Is the era of parity upon us?

Toronto, the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee, Golden State, Denver and now Boston. That’s six different title-winning franchises in six seasons, a run of parity that the league has seen only once before — nearly a half-century ago.