The 33-year old point guard produced a fine performance in an emphatic home win over Partizan
Back in blaugrana, rejuvenated Rubio is thriving again
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A bleak future appeared to loom for Ricky Rubio when he tore knee ligaments in December 2021 while playing for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. That season-ending injury raised questions about how much longer his glittering career would last.
Just seven weeks earlier, Rubio had enjoyed the brightest moment of his NBA career when he racked up 37 points and 10 assists for the Cavs in a 126-109 win over the New York Knicks.
What came after Rubio got injured was, to say the least, difficult. The versatile playmaker was traded to the Indiana Pacers in February 2022 but due to his injury ever featured for the Pacers and was traded back to the Cavs in July of that year. He eventually made it back on court in January of 2023, but last summer Rubio again put his career on hold to focus on his mental health. He announced the end of his NBA career in January.
If his future looked more unpredictable than ever, on February 6 the basketball world was rocked by news that Rubio had rejoined his former club FC Barcelona, the springboard franchise for his 13-year spell in the NBA.
Rubio was reunited with the club's head coach, Roger Grimau, with whom he won the 2010 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title when both featured for Barcelona as players. It was the last title to date for the Catalan club in Europe's premier club competition, a barren spell that has remained unbroken despite three consecutive Final Four appearances entering this season.
Solid before he arrived, Barcelona is now firing on all cylinders with Rubio back in the fold. On Thursday, rampant Barca blew away visiting Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 94-76 at home in Palau Blaugrana.
Rubio ran the show on the offensive end and made a significant contribution on defense, amassing 7 points, 6 assists and as many rebounds in 16:42 minutes, making a case for player of the game as Partizan got taken to the cleaners.
Humble as ever, Rubio emphasized after the game that his return to action required patience and self-belief that he'd be able to roll back the years and start afresh.
"It's an adjustment," he commented when asked how it felt to be back with Barcelona after such a long spell on the sidelines. "My body and my mind have had to adjust. I am getting to know my teammates better, and it's a step closer to where we want to be."
Barcelona is among the EuroLeague's most in-form team at the moment and a favorite to return to the Final Four in Berlin. With Rubio a trump card up Coach Grimau's sleeve, Barca will be beaming with confidence that it can wrestle the trophy away from its biggest rival, Real Madrid, which sits atop the regular season standings with five games remaining.