His legacy began with an Olympic run and a Euroleague Basketball championship. Now, he might be looking to close it in similar fashion. For Ricky Rubio, this series between FC Barcelona and Olympiacos may be about writing the final chapter his way.
There’s no confirmation on anything with Ricky Rubio’s basketball career beyond this summer. Still, it would surprise few if he saw this as his last big run. The summer brings a chance to lead Spain once more into the Olympics. Right now, his focus is on the Euroleague Basketball playoffs where his FC Barcelona side is set to battle Olympiacos.
Not exactly a big factor yet
The biggest surprise to readers who aren’t regular Euroleague Basketball fans is how little Ricky Rubio has been used since returning to FC Barcelona. In his 8 appearances in the competition, Rubio has averaged under 17 minutes a night. Even that is somewhat inflated by him playing nearly 25 in the dead rubber against LDLC Asvel in the final round of the regular season.
His numbers, when adjusted, are fine but not intimidating. Rubio is averaging 5.2 points per game but his FG percentage is an ugly 30 per cent. Still, he is clearly still an ace creator, averaging 4 assists per game despite his limited minutes. Similarly, he’s recording 1.1 steals per game. Compared to the competition leaders in both categories, on an adjusted minutes basis, he’s right up there at the top.
All of this comes with enormous context. Rubio retired from the NBA and took a break from basketball, one that really sent an important message to more than just ballers. He’s working his way back. We saw that with him coming back for the Spanish national team. Rubio has essentially been tuning up for the run.
Trust in Roger
Ricky Rubio has won the Euroleague title before, with FC Barcelona too for that matter. The leader on the floor at that time was Roger Grimau. He is, of course, now the head coach. There really couldn’t be anyone more suited to working with Rubio at this stage of the process.
Grimau will neither keep Rubio wrapped up in cotton wool nor will he force too much from him. The Barcelona coach is about as well-placed as anyone to know exactly how to get the most out of whatever is left in Rubio’s basketball career.
That means we can expect Grimau to be willing to make big calls with Rubio. If he tightens up the rotation, he’ll still find ways to make Rubio have an impact in games that matter. This week, with the playoff series against Olympiacos starting, there’s nobody more suited to knowing just how best to utilise Rubio on the basketball court.
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The signs are there
It’s worth noting that Ricky Rubio has yet to make any kind of announcement regarding the future of his basketball career. Still, from those of his generation and those that came before him, the signs are pointing to this being the last run.
Pau Gasol came back for a similar run with FC Barcelona a couple of years back, ending in defeat in the Euroleague championship game. Rudy Fernandez, although older still very much a contemporary of Rubio, has announced it is his final run. More importantly, Ricky has nothing left to prove.
He has the Olympic medals, the World Cup title along with Eurobasket crowns. While his NBA career didn’t go ideally, he still logged a memorable one. In Europe, he is as well respected as a baller can be. The many titles he won before going to the US assured him of that.
Not every player gets to end their career on their own terms. Rubio is in a position where he can. He has rejoined the club where he climbed the highest peaks of Europe before. Ricky is back in the Spain team, looking to make the Olympics one more time. Whether it is in Valencia at the qualifying tournament or at Paris 2024 (even though most of the basketball is in Lille), there seems a natural end to the arc in sight.
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About that series
There’s no shortage of history between FC Barcelona and Olympiacos. Ricky Rubio was part of the Barcelona team that claimed the Euroleague Basketball crown with victory over Oly in 2010. The memory that sticks out in my mind is Kostas Papanikolaou with a buzzer beating three in the 2015 playoffs to win the series for Olympiacos.
These sides know each other well. They have both had up and down campaigns in different ways. There’s battle fatigue but also knowledge that winning this series could be a huge adrenaline boost.
Rubio will understand the fatigue part better than most. He may not be in position to be the guy but that doesn’t matter. If the opportunity is there, he’ll pick up his pen and look to ensure he signs off the way he wants to.
