Ricky Rubio became the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish ACB League on 15 October 2005, at age 14.
56 Facts About Ricky Rubio
2.
Ricky Rubio made his EuroLeague debut on 24 October 2006, a few days after turning 16, making him one of the youngest players to make their debut in the EuroLeague in its current format.
3.
On 25 June 2009, Ricky Rubio was drafted with the fifth pick in the first round of the 2009 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, making him the first player born in the 1990s to be drafted by the NBA.
4.
The Timberwolves had an agreement in principle with his former Spanish team, DKV Joventut, to buy out his contract, but Ricky Rubio backed out of the deal.
5.
In 2011, Ricky Rubio joined the Timberwolves, and spent six seasons in Minnesota before being traded to the Utah Jazz in June 2017.
6.
Ricky Rubio signed with the Phoenix Suns in July 2019, before returning to Minnesota in 2020.
7.
Ricky Rubio was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in August 2021, but was dealt to the Indiana Pacers a month after suffering a season ending ACL injury in December.
8.
Ricky Rubio was the youngest player ever to debut in the ACB, at 14 years and 11 months.
9.
Ricky Rubio won the FIBA EuroChallenge championship with Joventut that year.
10.
Ricky Rubio won the Spanish ACB League's Rising Star Award that season.
11.
Ricky Rubio was named the FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year in 2007,2008, and 2009.
12.
Ricky Rubio made his EuroLeague debut on 24 October 2006, versus Panathinaikos of Athens as Joventut's backup point guard for Elmer Bennett.
13.
Ricky Rubio became the fifth-youngest EuroLeague player at the time.
14.
Ricky Rubio averaged 2.8 assists per game in his first season of EuroLeague play.
15.
Ricky Rubio won the EuroCup championship with Joventut in 2008.
16.
Ricky Rubio was voted the Spanish ACB League's best point guard in 2008 and 2010.
17.
DKV Joventut and Ricky Rubio's parents agreed not to make him available for interviews until his 18th birthday on 21 October 2008.
18.
Ricky Rubio won the 2008 Mr Europa Award, which was given out yearly by the Italian Superbasket Magazine.
19.
Ricky Rubio declared himself eligible for the 2009 NBA draft on 20 April 2009.
20.
Ricky Rubio did not attend an introductory press conference by the Timberwolves.
21.
The main stumbling block to Ricky 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.
22.
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 Ricky Rubio did not feel ready to cross the Atlantic.
23.
Ricky Rubio arrived off a plane in Minnesota to a barrage of fans waiting to welcome him to the United States.
24.
On 17 June 2011, Ricky Rubio held a press conference announcing he had signed with Minnesota.
25.
Ricky Rubio recorded 6 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in 26 minutes in a 4-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
26.
Ricky Rubio was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month after the first month of the season.
27.
Ricky Rubio was drafted to Team Shaq, while Williams was drafted to Team Chuck.
28.
Ricky Rubio scored 22 points on 19 February 2012 in a win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
29.
Ricky Rubio finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, trailing only Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kyrie Irving.
30.
Ricky Rubio had averaged 10.6 points, 8.2 assists and 2.2 steals in 41 games.
31.
Ricky Rubio returned from his injury on 15 December 2012, in an overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks, playing for 19 minutes and totaling 9 assists and 8 points.
32.
Ricky Rubio then recorded his first career triple-double with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in a win over the San Antonio Spurs on 13 March 2013.
33.
Ricky Rubio finished second in steals per game, behind Chris Paul.
34.
Ricky Rubio tied the Timberwolves' franchise record with his 17 assists.
35.
Ricky Rubio later underwent surgery on his ankle in April 2015.
36.
On 28 October 2015, Ricky Rubio scored a then career-high 28 points in a season opening win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
37.
Ricky Rubio finished with 13 points and 12 assists for his eighth double-double of the season, as the Timberwolves snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Thunder.
38.
On 11 January 2017, in a win over the Houston Rockets, Ricky Rubio had a 17-assist effort for the fifth time in his career.
39.
Ricky Rubio passed Sam Mitchell to move into fourth place on the team's career games played list with 292.
40.
Ricky Rubio finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
41.
On 30 June 2017, Ricky Rubio was traded to the Utah Jazz in exchange for a 2018 first-round draft pick.
42.
Ricky Rubio's triple-double was the first by a Jazz player in the postseason since John Stockton in the 2001 playoffs against Dallas.
43.
In Game 6, Ricky Rubio suffered a left hamstring injury that rendered him out for the remainder of the playoffs.
44.
On 8 July 2019, Ricky Rubio signed with the Phoenix Suns on a three-year, $51 million contract.
45.
Ricky Rubio became the first Suns player to put up at least 20+ points, 10+ assists, and 7+ steals in a game since Kevin Johnson back in 1996.
46.
On 16 November 2020, Ricky Rubio was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder alongside Jalen Lecque, Kelly Oubre Jr.
47.
On 3 August 2021, Ricky Rubio was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Taurean Prince, a 2022 second round pick, and cash considerations.
48.
On February 6,2022, Ricky Rubio was traded to the Indiana Pacers along with a lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick in exchange for Caris LeVert and a 2022 second-round pick.
49.
On July 8,2022, Ricky Rubio, still injured, returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year, $18 million contract.
50.
Ricky Rubio forced the first overtime with a three-point, buzzer-beating shot from mid-court.
51.
Ricky Rubio was then named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament after leading it in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
52.
Ricky Rubio played in the 2008 Olympics Basketball Tournament's gold medal game against the USA's "Redeem Team", and at 17 became the youngest player in an Olympic basketball final.
53.
Ricky Rubio's contribution averaged 22.7 minutes, 5.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.
54.
Ricky Rubio led Spain to a gold medal in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.
55.
Ricky Rubio was chosen as one of the FIBA World Cup All-Star Five alongside Serbian's Bogdan Bogdanovic, France's Evan Fournier, Spain's Marc Gasol, and Argentina's Luis Scola.
56.
Ricky Rubio was regarded by some as the best European guard prospect ever.