Ricky Rubio stepping away from basketball to focus on mental health

Veteran point guard Ricky Rubio is stepping away from basketballindefinitely as he focuses on improving his mental health, heannounced on Saturday.

It's unclear how long Rubio will be out, but he won't be playingfor the Spanish national team during the 2023 World Cup. While hehas two years and approximately $12.5 million remaining on hiscontract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, it's possible he'll misstime during the 2023-24 NBA season too.

"I have decided to stop my professional activity to take care ofmy mental health. I want to thank all the support I have receivedfrom the [Spanish national] team to understand my decision," Rubiosaid in a statement.

"Today #family makes more sense than ever. Thank you. I wouldask that my privacy be respected so that I can face these momentsand be able to give more information when the time is right."

Cavs and Spain's lead point guard RickyRubio announced Saturday that he was putting his career on holdindefinitely to focus on mental health. pic.twitter.com/Whm36orVQi

As ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted, Rubio "left the [Spanishnational] team's training camp this week in Madrid and didn't playin Spain's first warmup game Friday night against Venezuela."

The 32-year-old is a 12-year NBA veteran who appeared in 33games for the Cavs last season, averaging 5.2 points, 3.5 assistsand 2.1 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game. The year before, he wasplaying some of his best basketball — averaging 13.1 points, 6.6assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.7 threes and 1.4 steals — before he tore aknee ligament in the 34th game of the season and requiredsurgery.

It remains to be seen when Rubio will return, but it's good tosee that he's prioritizing his mental health and getting thesupport he needs during this difficult time.