Just 20 days before the start of the 2023 World Cup in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia – in which Spain is defending its title – Ricky Rubio is stepping down from the national team and from basketball. The 32-year-old Masnou baseman is clear: mental health comes before a sports career. The duration of the break and the return to the tracks do not have dates.
“I have decided to stop my professional activity to take care of my mental health. I want to thank all the support received from the FEB to understand my decision. Today
It was Wednesday when the point guard left the national team’s concentration in Madrid. He had missed some training and on Friday he did not play in the first preparatory friendly for the World Cup, against Venezuela at the Wizink Center (87-57). It was justified.
It all goes back to a few weeks ago. The first symptoms of instability appeared while still in the United States; the NBA season ended in June, but his last game with the Cavaliers was on April 23 against the Knicks; played 6 minutes.
One of Rubio’s last public appearances was on July 6 at Foros de Vanguardia, at the MGS auditorium in Barcelona. His words, animated and excited, did not seem to foreshadow that he would opt for a break just a month later. “I will look for this World Cup challenge, we will try to win, we will compete, and next year towards the NBA”, Ricky promised himself, eager to play again with the national team two years later (they were fulfilled on Thursday, day 3). In that last match with Spain, in the defeat against the USA in Tokyo, he left for the record a historic performance: with his 38 points he set three records, the best mark by a Spaniard at the Games, the Olympic score most by an opponent against the USA, and the best score of his career (with the national team and in clubs).
Thus, the return to the selection was for Rubio the best therapy to recover mentally. The point guard believed that being reunited with “the Family” – as Scariolo’s team is called – would act as a “switch” to deactivate his psychological shadows. Taking on the role of veteran of the group, with Rudy Fernández and Sergio Llull, could be an antidote to combat psychological anxiety. But no. After a few days of reflection, seeing that he did not enjoy basketball, Rubio chooses to voluntarily withdraw from the media showcase of a national team and a World Cup. He feels that it is what he has to do, and he has found relief by getting off the train, according to sources close to the player.
Ricky Rubio, the eternal child of Spanish basketball – in the elite since the age of 14 – has never hidden his concern for mental health, which he himself had suffered following the death of his mother, Tona Vives, on 2016. “I couldn’t call it a depression, but it was a wake-up call”, he admitted in the privacy of the Foros de Vanguardia.
After his temporary hiatus was made public, the displays of support and affection followed. “Cheers, friend. May this smile never disappear. We love you”, Llull wrote to him. “A
