Ricard "Ricky" Rubio i Vives (born October 21, 1990) is a Spanish professional basketball player who currently plays for theMinnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rubio became the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish ACB League on October 15, 2005, at age 14.[1][2] He made his Euroleague debut on October 24, 2006, at age 16, becoming the first player born in the 1990s to play in a Euroleague game.[3] On June 25, 2009, he was drafted with the fifth pick in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Timberwolves,[4] making him the first player born in the 1990s to be drafted by the NBA. The Timberwolves had an agreement in principle with his former Spanish team, DKV Joventut, to buy out his contract, but Rubio backed out of the deal.[5] On August 31, 2009, Joventut traded the rights to Rubio to FC Barcelona,[6] and Rubio signed a six-year contract withFC Barcelona the following day.[7] On May 31, 2011, Rubio reached an agreement with Minnesota to join the Timberwolves for the2011–12 NBA season.[8]
Player profile[edit]
Rubio is regarded by some as the best European guard prospect ever.
[9] Rubio has been compared by some to
Pete Maravich.
[10]
2009 NBA Draft[edit]
On June 24, 2009, the
Minnesota Timberwolves acquired the 5th pick in the
2009 NBA Draft,
Etan Thomas,
Darius Songaila and
Oleksiy Pecherov from the
Washington Wizards, in exchange for
Randy Foye and
Mike Miller.
[11] With the 5th pick, Minnesota selected Rubio, making him the first player born in the 1990s to be drafted.
[12] The Timberwolves had a total of four first round picks in the 2009 NBA Draft. They used the 6th and 18th picks in the first round and chose two other point guards,
Jonny Flynn from
Syracuse and
Ty Lawson from
North Carolina, surprising many in the NBA.
[13][14] Lawson's draft rights were soon traded to the
Denver Nuggets.
[14] The Timberwolves then used the 28th pick to select
Wayne Ellington, a shooting guard from
North Carolina.
The following day, Rubio's father told a Spanish media outlet that his son might return to Spain for at least one more season.
[13] Rubio did not attend an introductory press conference by the Timberwolves.
[15] Rubio had a buyout clause in his Joventut contract reported by various media outlets as ranging from $6.6 million to $8.2 million, and Timberwolves general manager
David Kahn admitted that Rubio would probably have to play one more season in Spain to reduce or avoid the buyout.
[15]
After the draft[edit]
On July 22, the
Associated Press reported that Rubio was seeking to leave Joventut, regardless of whether he was able to come to the NBA. The report indicated that ACB powers
FC Barcelona and
Real Madrid were both interested in signing Rubio if he could not immediately come to the NBA. The main stumbling block to Rubio's NBA move was a clause in the league's collective bargaining agreement that prohibited a team from paying more than $500,000 toward a player's contract buyout. Barça and Real, as ACB clubs, were not subject to this rule and could pay far more toward a buyout.
[16] In another development, the
St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on August 4 that Rubio's representatives had been actively seeking endorsement deals in Minnesota to help finance his buyout (the NBA buyout rules are binding on teams, but not on third parties).
[17]
However, on August 31, 2009,
ESPN reported that Rubio would not come to the NBA until 2011 at the earliest.
[6] Joventut expressed a willingness to reduce the buyout, and the Timberwolves apparently had a deal to bring him to the NBA, but in the end Rubio did not feel ready to come across the Atlantic. Rubio issued the following statement:
[5]
| “ | The reason leading me to take this next step is to have a period of preparation to better take the challenge of the NBA in better conditions as a player. The Minnesota Timberwolves continue to be my first option and I wish to play with them in the near future. | ” |
Kahn believed that Rubio and his family were being pressured by the Spanish media, his national teammates, and people in his hometown to stay in Spain, adding, "It's just been a tough summer. From an 18-year-old's perspective and his family's perspective, it was very nerve-racking."
[5]
ESPN reported that his original buyout with Joventut was
€5.7 million ($8.1 million) in both 2009 and 2010.
[6] Barça bought out Rubio's contract for €3.5 million ($5.0 million), and announced on September 1 that he had signed a six-year deal with the club. The contract gave him the option to go to the NBA after the 2010–11 season,
[18] with ESPN reporting that the buyout at that time would be a more manageable $1.4 million (of which the Timberwolves could pay $500,000).
[5]
Professional career[edit]
Signed jersey of Ricky Rubio (2009)
Despite his notability, he was carefully shielded.
DKV Joventut and Rubio's parents agreed not to make him available for interviews until his 18th birthday on 21 October 2008.
[20] However, the restrictions were ended a few months early once he was selected for the
Spanish national team that would play at the
2008 Olympics.
[21]
Rubio won the 2008
Mr. Europa Award, which is given out yearly by the Italian
Superbasket Magazine. In 2009, his club Badalona raised the amount of money that his contract paid per year from 80,000 euros
net income to 300,000
euros net income.
[22] He was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the Spanish ACB League 2008–09 season, and he also led the league in steals that season. Rubio declared himself eligible for the
2009 NBA Draft on April 20, 2009.
[23][24] Rubio's agent is
Dan Fegan.
[25]
Minnesota Timberwolves (2011–present)[edit]
On June 1, 2011, sources reported that Rubio had "reached an agreement with Minnesota to join the Timberwolves" for the
2011–12 NBA season.
[8] Rubio arrived off a plane in Minnesota to a barrage of fans waiting to welcome him to America.
[26][27] On June 17, 2011, Rubio held a press conference announcing that he had signed with Minnesota.
[28]
Becoming the 10th Spanish NBA player,
[29] Rubio made his regular season debut on December 26, 2011, to a sellout crowd at the
Target Center, the team's first sellout crowd since the 2007–08 season. Rubio recorded 6 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in 26 minutes a 4-point loss to the
Oklahoma City Thunder.
[30] He was named Western Conference
Rookie of the Month after the first month of the season.
[31] In February, Rubio and teammate
Derrick Williams were selected to participate in the 2012 Rising Stars challenge. However, Rubio was drafted to Team
Shaq, while Williams was drafted to Team
Chuck. Rubio scored 22 points on February 19, 2012 in a win over the
Philadelphia 76ers.
[32] In a loss to the
Los Angeles Lakers on March 9, 2012, Rubio tore his
ACL and his
lateral collateral ligament defending
Kobe Bryant. He missed the rest of the season.
[33][34] Rubio finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, trailing only
Cleveland Cavaliers rookie
Kyrie Irving.
[35] Rubio had averaged 10.6 points, 8.2 assists and 2.2 steals in 41 games.
Rubio returned from his injury on December 15, 2012, in an overtime victory over the
Dallas Mavericks, playing for 19 minutes and totaling 9 assists and 8 points.
[36] He then recorded his first career triple double with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists in a win against the San Antonio Spurs on March 12, 2013.
Rubio almost recorded his second career triple double in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on March 30, 2013. He scored 23 points, adding 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
[37] Then on April 13, 2013, he recorded a new career high 24 points with 10 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals to help the Timberwolves get their third win against the Phoenix Suns in the
2012–13 NBA season.
[38] Rubio finished the
2012–13 NBA season with an average 10.7 points, 7.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game. He also finished second in steals per game, behind
Chris Paul.
[39]
On November 11, 2013, Rubio recorded his second career triple double in a 113-90 win against the
Los Angeles Lakers. He scored 12 points, adding 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
[40]
Spanish national team[edit]
Under-16 national team[edit]
In August 2006, Rubio led the rising junior Spanish national team to the
FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. During the tournament Rubio achieved two
triple-doubles and a
quadruple-double. In the 110–106 double overtime finale victory over Russia, Rubio scored 51 points, the first player to do so in
FIBA tournaments since
Luol Deng (in 2001), grabbed 24 rebounds, made 12 assists, and stole the ball 7 times—a performance unprecedented in the tournament's history. He also forced the first overtime with a three-point, buzzer-beating shot from mid-court. Rubio was then named the
Most Valuable Player of the tournament after leading it in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
Senior national team[edit]
He played in the 2008 Olympics Basketball Tournament's gold medal game against the
USA's "Redeem Team", and thus at 17 became the youngest basketball player to ever play in an Olympic basketball final. Rubio shared the Spanish national team's silver medal after his team suffered a 118–107 loss. The next year he was chosen to play for Spain at the
EuroBasket 2009 in Poland, where Spain won the gold medal by defeating
Serbia 85–63. During the tournament, Rubio averaged 22.7 minutes, 5.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
Awards and accomplishments[edit]
Joventut[edit]
FC Barcelona Basquet[edit]
Spanish national team[edit]
Personal awards[edit]
- MVP of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship: he averaged 22.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 6.5 steals. In the final, accumulated 51 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists and 7 steals.[41]
- 2× led the Spanish ACB League in steals: (2007, 2009)
- Won the Spanish ACB League Rising Star Award: (2007)
- 3× FIBA European Young Player of the Year: (2007, 2008, 2009)
- 2× Spanish ACB League's Best Point Guard: (2008, 2010)
- 2× All-Spanish ACB League Team: (2008, 2010)
- Italian Superbasket Magazine's European Player of the Year: Mr. Europa: (2008)
- Spanish ACB League Defensive Player of the Year: (2009)
- Catalan Cup Tournament MVP: (2009)
- Euroleague Rising Star: (2010)
- Won the Spanish ACB League Top 5 Trophy: Most Spectacular Player of the Year (2010)
- 2011–12 NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month: December, January
European career statistics[edit]
Liga ACB[edit]
Euroleague[edit]
NBA career statistics[edit]
Regular season[edit]
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