A basketball prodigy and the youngest player to make a debut in the Spanish Liga ACB at just the age of 14 years, Ricky Rubio is a basketball sensation who currently plays for FC Barcelona as a point guard. He made his professional basketball debut for the Joventut Badalona in 2005. However, his performance was not limited to the professional league only.
Rubio is regarded as one of the best European guard prospects and is compared to Pete Mavarich. He was a part of Spain’s Under-16 roster for the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship held in 2005 and 2006. He helped the Spanish Under-16 team to win bronze in 2005. He didn’t stop there and helped the team win the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in 2006 and became the tournament’s MVP.
His performance earned him a call to Spain’s Senior National team, where he made an immediate impact and won FIBA European Young Player of the Year three times in consecutive years (2007, 2008, and 2009). He was an integral part of the Spain National Basketball team and represented the team for the 2008 and 2016 Summer Olympics and helped them win silver and bronze respectively. He led his team to win gold in EuroBasket in 2009, and 2011, and they finished third in 2013 and 2017. He helped his team to win the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and was named the Most Valued Player. He also made it to the FIBA Basketball World Cup All-Tournament Team in 2019 and the Summer Olympics All-Star Team in 2020.
Ricky Rubio Draft
Rubio was the 5th overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft. The 6’2” made a name for himself with his exceptional passing and extraordinary ball-handling skills, which is why the Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to let him play for FC Barcelona for the next two years. Drafted in 2009, he started playing for the Timberwolves in 2011 and played six seasons for them. He became NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month twice in December and January for the 2011-12 season.
He was traded to the Utah Jazz in 2017, and he stayed with them for two years. He then signed a three-year deal with the Phoenix Suns on July 8, 2019. However, he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves via the Oklahoma City Thunder in November 2020. Rubio was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on August 3, 2021, and finally announced his retirement from the NBA on January 4, 2024.
His long career is brimming with numerous accolades that he won during his professional basketball career. He led the Liga ACB in steals in 2007 and 2009 and won the Spanish ACB League Rising Star Award in 2007. He was awarded Mister Europa Player of the Year in 2008, ACB League Defensive Player of the Year and Catalan Cup MVP in 2009, and ACB Most Spectacular Player in 2010. He became a FIBA EuroChallenge champion in 2006, EuroCup champion in 2008, EuroLeague champion in 2010 and Liga ACB champion in 2011.
FAQ's On Ricky Rubio draft pick
A. Ricky Rubio has 30+ points six time in his NBA career.
A. Rubio scored 37 points against the New York Knicks on November 7, 2021, which is his career best.
A. Ricky Rubio has a wingspan of 6 ft 9 in.
A. He played 698 regular season games at 29.6 minutes per game, scoring at an average of 10.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. He also played 14 playoffs at 26.1 minutes per game and averaged 11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
