The Big Lead

12-year NBA vet makes cryptic announcement, then backtracks from retirement

The flashy point guard averaged 7.4 assists per game for four different teams in his NBA career.

By J.P. Hoornstra

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio (red shirt) and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (right) greet each after the game at Target Center on Jan. 14, 2023.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio (red shirt) and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (right) greet each after the game at Target Center on Jan. 14, 2023. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
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The first round of the 2009 NBA Draft reads today like a Frank Sinatra lyric: Regrets, I've had a few ...

Ricky Rubio, the fifth overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves, is hardly the pick that deserves the most second-guessing. Hasheem Thabeet (No. 2) and Jonny Flynn (No. 6) were both drafted ahead of Steph Curry (No. 7 to the Golden State Warriors).

And while Rubio's NBA career might have amounted to more sizzle than steak, it also lasted 12 years — more than most can say. After sitting out the 2024-25 season, Rubio appeared to suggest he would retire in a post to his Twitter/X account Friday.

"I took this year to reflect on my career and my life, and I’ve realized that if I’ve gotten to where I am today, it’s not because of the assists I’ve given, but because of the assists I’ve received," he wrote. "This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a thank you to all the people who have helped me along the way."

However, Rubio later clarified in a statement released via his agency that he isn't necessarily retiring yet.

"This is not a farewell. It's just a thank you," he said. "It comes from my year of reflection, and I felt like doing something that is rarely done: thanking those who have been or are important to you. But it has no other message. I still don't know what will happen with my career."

"That will be the next thing to think about. This is something that comes from within now, and I want to express it while I am still professionally active, although forced to stop due to health issues."

Rubio's highlight reel included dazzling passes and dribbles that undersell his NBA averages of 10.8 points and 7.4 assists per game.

In his rookie season (2011-12), Rubio led all rookies in minutes per game (34.2) as the Timberwolves' point guard, and averaged 10.6 points, 8.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. He finished second to Kyrie Irving in the postseason Rookie of the Year vote.

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Despite never playing collegiately, Rubio was already a star when he came to the U.S. He debuted in the Spanish ACB League at age 14, and represented Spain in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Rubio also helped FC Barcelona win the EuroLeague Championship in 2010, and the La Liga ACB Championship in 2011, before jumping to the NBA.

Rubio's open-court ball-handling skills translated naturally to his time with the Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, and Cleveland Cavaliers. Unfortunately his career was slowed by injuries that included a torn ACL that sidelined him for a chunk of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 NBA seasons.

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