Ricky Rubio, the positive player's break: "Just as there are times when one physically can't take it anymore, psychologically it also happens"

I was 17 years old when Ricky Rubio stormed basketball like a cyclone. It was presented to the world in 2008 in Beijing in an Olympic Games final against none other than the United States. Spain lost, but the rival point guard, a certain Jason Kidd, said of him: “The sky is the limit.”

And the truth is that at the beginning of his career he played it. Euroleague “Rising Star” Trophy plus title with Barcelona as the youngest player, best point guard in the ACB… and selected fifth in the 2009 Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He came to the United States with the overtones of a superstar. His duo with Kevin Love wowed in Minnesota and the franchise had high hopes for him.. Until on March 10, 2012, precisely against the Los Angeles Lakers of his friend Pau Gasol, Ricky destroyed his knee.

As a result of that first step through hell, the #StayPositive of the young man from Masnou would be born. That motto in the face of adversity from a boy who has had to overcome very difficult moments in life, usually in the form of long-term injuries such as the ankle problem in 2014. A sprain that became more complicated until it ended in an operation a year later. “Situations happen to us in our lives that we have to integrate in order to overcome them and grow as people and athletes and this is not always easy,” explains David Llopis, sports psychologist.

But the worst was, without a doubt, the death of his mother in 2016 after a long fight against cancer.. An event that caused the basketball player to go through a depression as reflected in a letter in The Players Tribune in 2019. After the death of his mother, Ricky admitted that he “lived angry” and that he came to “blame basketball” for what he was feeling. So he asked for help to be able to overcome a trance that produced “no hatred” for his sport, but “not wanting to go to a game or a training session”. “When a player comes from a psychologically complicated situation, controlling emotional charges is important,” says Llopis.

From that, an even more mature and committed Ricky emerged, he created The Ricky Rubio Foundation, an institution aimed at improving the lives of cancer patients.. And he smiled again with a basketball in his hands.

I would return to heaven in 2019 dressed in the uniform of Spain. Back in China, Ricky Rubio rose together with the team with the gold medal in the World Cup. He was also chosen MVP of the tournament.. “There is a perfectionism that makes you be demanding and want to do better, but there is another that is never satisfied with what it has and this can increase the pressure on the athlete,” says the sports psychologist.

same knee

Then came the pandemic, which was also complicated for the young man, and again the well. In December 2021, he broke the same knee again, but he, always positive and forward. “When a person is not feeling well and decides to stop, it is not a whim and it is not due to lack of interest. There are some reasons, that in many cases one is not aware of what the cause is, but knows that he needs to stop”, says Llopis about the mental swell caused by the ups and downs of a long sporting life.

He returned in January 2023, 380 days after his major injury. He did it at the age of 32, with many past injuries but, it seemed, that with the illusion intact. After an irregular end to the season with his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, everyone would expect to see him overwhelmed with enthusiasm before this new World Cup appointment with La Familia. “In the same way that there are times when one physically can't take it anymore, psychologically it also happens,” adds Llopis. Faced with the unexpected decision of the young point guard from Masnou to leave.

Rubio has decided to stop to “take care of his mental health”. Perhaps, with that sincere letter to The Players Tribune, he had already warned that this could happen: “As in any other job, there are times when you need a break and you can't have it”. Llopis agrees with the player, but adds a factor regarding the future of his decision: “A momentary withdrawal generates a release initially, but doubts will also appear. In this sense, the support and understanding of the environment is key”.