As the Los Angeles Lakers were awaiting the returns of LeBron James and Rajon Rondo, they incurred another injury when Lonzo Ball collided with James Ennis III during a January game with the Houston Rockets.
Ball immediately went down in pain, grabbing at his left ankle before being carried off the court by teammates. Ball was taken for an X-Ray, which came back negative. He was diagnosed with a sprained ankle at the time, and an MRI the following day confirmed the injury.
Although Ball suffered a Grade 3 sprained left ankle, which entails a ligament tear, he avoided surgery.