Ricky Rubio Reportedly Signing With Spanish Club With Which Career Began

July 22, 2024

Former NBA point guard Ricky Rubio is seemingly headed to Spanish club Joventut Badalona, per Jordi Valle Simo of EFE Deportes.

If so, Rubio will be returning to the team where he spent the first four years of his professional career, beginning in 2005.

Rubio, 33, spent last season with Barcelona after retiring from the NBA. After the season, he made it sound as if he may be contemplating retirement altogether.

“I have no idea (if I will continue next year),” Rubio told Gigantes, via BasketNews. “I don’t want to make the decision in the heat of the moment. I’d like to have a few weeks with a cool head so I can evaluate everything. It has not been easy. Now, it’s difficult to decide in the heat of the moment.”

Rubio retired as a member Cleveland Cavaliers after taking a break for mental health. In all, he had not played in a year-and-a-half.

He averaged 4.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 13 Euroleague games with Barcelona. So it didn’t go quite as he had hoped.

“It’s been strange. I wanted to change some things. Coming in mid-season and not feeling 100 percent is not easy,” he said. “I haven’t been everything I expected, but I did not have any expectations either. However, it is clear that the [season] outcome [for me and the team] is not good.”

Upon retiring from the NBA in February, Rubio thanked all the teams for which he played — the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves — but offered special praise to the Cavs, who re-signed him after trading him to the Indiana Pacers on an expiring contract. Rubio returned last season but wasn’t the same after tearing his ACL the previous year.

“My last home,” Rubio wrote of Cleveland when announcing his retirement. “I know the way things ended have been tough. I could never have imagined the year would develop this way, but you have an amazing organization, with (president of basketball operations Koby Altman) and (ex-coach JB Bickerstaff), who have been extremely respectful and understanding of my situation and caring for me as a person.”

Rubio was the No. 5 overall pick by the Timberwolves in the 2009 NBA Draft and carries career averages of 10.9 points, 7.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 698 games.