• This was the 72 hours that led to the goodbye of Ricky Rubio: "I do not see myself capable"
  • Ricky Rubio leaves the concentration of the selection and stops his career to "treat his mental health"

He was 17 years old when Ricky Rubio burst into basketball like a cyclone. He presented himself to the world in 2008 in Beijing in an Olympic Games final against none other than the United States. Spain lost, but the opposing point guard, one Jason Kidd, said of him: "His limit is the sky."

And the truth is that at the beginning of his career he touched it. Euroleague "Rising Star" trophy plus title with Barcelona as youngest player, best point guard in the ACB... and selected fifth overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He arrived in the United States with superstar overtones. His duo with Kevin Love marveled in Minnesota and the franchise had high hopes for him. Until March 10, 2012, precisely against the Los Angeles Lakers of his friend Pau Gasol, Ricky shatters 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 of 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 was complicated until it ended in an operation a year later. "In our lives situations happen to us that we have to integrate to overcome them and grow as people and athletes and this is not always easy," explains David Llopis, sports psychologist.

But the worst was undoubtedly the death of his mother in 2016 after a long battle with cancer. An event that made the basketball player 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 overcome a trance that produced "not hatred" to his sport, but "not wanting to go to a game or a training". "When a player comes from a complicated situation on a psychological level in control of emotional loads is important," says Llopis.

From that, an even more mature and more committed Ricky came out, 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.

He would return to heaven in 2019 dressed in the uniform of Spain. Back in China, Ricky Rubio rose with the selection 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 of the athlete," says the sports psychologist.

Same knee

Then came the pandemic, which also became 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 well and decides to stop it is not a whim and it is not for lack of interest. There are some reasons, that in many cases one is not aware of what the cause is, but you know you need to stop, "says Llopis about the sea of mental background that cause the ups and downs in a long sporting life.

He returned in January 2023, 380 days after his major injury. He did it with 32 years, with many past wounds but, it seemed, with the illusion intact. After an irregular end of the season with his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, everyone would expect to see him with overflowing enthusiasm for this new World Cup appointment with La Familia. "In the same way that there are times when one physically can not more, psychologically it also happens," adds Llopis. Before the unexpected decision to leave the young base of Masnou.

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 to 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".

  • Ricky Rubio
  • Spanish National Basketball Team
  • Psychology
  • Mental health

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