Veteran Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio is putting his basketball career on pause to focus on his mental health, the 32-year-old said in a statement Saturday.
“I have decided to stop my professional activity to take care of my mental health,” Rubio said, via the Spanish Basketball Federation. “Today #Family makes more sense than ever … I ask to respect my privacy to be able to face these moments and to be able to give more information when the time is right.”
Rubio was set to play in the 2023 FIBA World Cup on Aug. 25 for his home country of Spain, the defending champion.
He played in 33 games for the Cavaliers this past season after he signed with the team in 2022 following an ACL injury sustained in 2021. Rubio proved to be a stabilizing force for the team alongside Donovan Mitchell, especially during the postseason. He averaged 5.2 points, 3.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game this past season.
Professional basketball has been a part of Rubio’s everyday life since he was 14 years old. Rubio debuted in the Spanish ACB League in 2005 a month before his 15th birthday. The Minnesota Timberwolves drafted Rubio No. 5 overall in 2009, but he played two more seasons in Spain for Barcelona before he officially joined the NBA for the 2011 season.
He played the next six seasons for the Timberwolves before he was traded to the Utah Jazz in 2017. He then spent one season with the Phoenix Suns before he rejoined the Timberwolves in 2020 following a trade from the Suns to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Rubio originally joined the Cavaliers in 2021 from the Timberwolves, but tore his ACL that December and was subsequently traded to the Indiana Pacers. He never played for the Pacers and re-signed with the Cavaliers the following offseason.
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