Ricky Rubio recounts his battle with depression, reflects on his career / News - Basketnews.com

Ricky Rubio talked about his struggles with mental health issues, the sinister thoughts he used to make, the times he felt like a rock star, and all the fame and glory that came too early in his career.

Credit: Sarah Stier/Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix Credit Sarah Stier/Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix

Ricky Rubiois set to return to basketball following a mental health breakdown which saw him retire from the NBA. Rubio will start practices with FC Barcelona as he completes his mental health recovery.

Ricard Rubio

Team:Cleveland CavaliersPosition:PGAge:33Height:193 cmWeight:86 kgBirth place:Barcelona, SpainProfileNewsStatistics

"After several weeks of thinking and dedicated work on both my mind and body, I see myself with the desire and strength to see how I react with a ball in my hands. My next step has been to ask FC Barcelona if I could train with them," Rubio wrote on X.

The 2019 FIBA world champion missed most of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers before going on mental health leave in August 2023. The 33-year-old agreed a contract buyout with the franchise at the beginning of the year.

In a long interview with The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski, Rubio called July 30, 2023, "one of the toughest days of his life." The Spanish guard recounted the days leading up to the moment he decided to stop, leaving the Spanish NT camp ahead of the 2023 World Cup and give absolute priority to his mental health.

"My mind went to a very dark place. The last injury with the Cavs was very hard but it wasn't the big factor that led me to that. It was small things that had been there for years and finally turned against me," he reflected.

"I get chills thinking about the days when everything was dark. There was something clouding my mind, that I couldn't get over. Now I'm much better with the help I needed to receive, and I'm rebuilding from the inside out, and not from the outside in," he said with sincerity.

Rubio admitted that facing the internal conflicts associated with his image was another barrier he had to overcome.

"I've always been the one who tried to be positive, but sometimes I was just lying to myself. He would tell me that I couldn't feel a certain way because that would slow me down. But if you lie to yourself, it ends up turning against you, and that's what has happened to me. You have to be honest with yourself," he found out.

Ricky takes stock of his time in the NBA, where he experienced 12 years of ups and downs.

"Sometimes, I wish I had had an even better career. I would like to have won a title. But in the end I realize that I enjoyed it. There were bad moments, of course, it has not been a perfect story. But I learned a lot, made a lot of friends and grew during the whole process. I enjoyed basketball."

The point guard also speaks very clearly about the two knee injuries that ended up marking his career in the USA. The first one occurred when he was just a young point guard having a wonderful time with the Timberwolves.

"I reached a point where I felt invincible. Then the injury came and I told myself that it couldn't affect me. I don't know if it was innocence, but I thought I couldn't go wrong. I always think about that injury and how things could have gone without it. Everything happens for a reason, but I keep thinking about it. I was having so much fun that season, I couldn't believe it."

Rubio said he felt "like a rock star" in Minnesota.

"I didn't want to be in the foreground, but I couldn't complain either, it was great. My way of playing was pure Ricky. I didn't mean to disrespect other teams, it was my way of having fun. I always try to be respectful to everyone. But, at the same time, I like to have fun on the court."

Looking back, Rubio has come to realize the cost to debut with Joventut at the age of 14, to play an Olympic final with Spain before the age of 18. Overall, being a child prodigy had its good things, but it was also a great challenge.

"It was all so fast that I couldn't even ask myself if I wanted to be a professional. But with the NT, I was not afraid, I did not know that there were things that could be twisted. I was only thinking about the good things. I was having so much fun that I could have played with only one leg."

Experiencing intense emotions led Rubio to become more and more closed-off.

"I had to hide my feelings, maybe because I'm a super sentimental person. I had to do it like that so it wouldn't affect my level of play. But now I think I wish I had enjoyed myself more in those early stages of my life."

The death of his mother in 2016 shook him up for good. But there was also a lesson that he was taught.

"Now I know I'm not alone. I know that when you explain things, people understand you. We are human beings, we go through similar things in different contexts. You have to support each other, turn to others, look for the people you love. But I'm not going to lie, it's a hard process."

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