Timberwolves Franchise Legend Ricky Rubio Officially Announces Retirement

After 12 NBA seasons, Timberwolves franchise legend Ricky Rubio officially announces his retirement from basketball.

Last year, Ricky Rubio announced he was stepping away from basketball for mental health reasons. That led to arguably the best thing I, personally, have ever read on this site. Our very own Leo Sun penned an open letter to the man that made us all fall back in love with basketball 16 years ago.

I would push any and all of you to go read that piece, linked here, as it embodies what we try to embody here at Canis. Basketball is love, it is joy, and no one made us feel that more than our favorite Spaniard, La Pistola.

For those who do not know, this morning, Rubio took out a full-page ad in the Star Tribune sports section to thank the state of Minnesota for welcoming him and helping him grow into the man he became.

Drafted in 2009, Rubio was one of two back-to-back picks the Wolves had. While he was once expected to be a top pick in a draft that featured Blake Griffin, James Harden, and Steph Curry, Rubio would slide down to 5th overall, where the Wolves would take him with a pick they got for Randy Foye and Mike Miller.

The point guard would stay in Spain until 2011-12, where the prospect that Wolves fans had been dreaming of finally became a reality. In his first season, the Wolves went 21-20 with Rubio in the lineup before an ACL tear would ruin the phenom’s arrival. Minnesota would go 5-20 the rest of the way.

Rubio would still make the All-Rookie team and finish as the runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting to Kyrie Irving. The following year, Rubio would play in 57 games, averaging 7.3 assists per game. That mark was the same as LeBron James and tied for eighth across the association.

The breakout season of Rubio’s career would come the next year. He played all 82 games, finished fourth in assists per game, second in total assists, and pushed Minnesota to a 40-42 record, the best the team had seen since Kevin Garnett.

This would, however, be the peak of Rubio in Minnesota as the team would trade franchise center-piece Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers only a few months after the end of the season.

Now asked to be a leader and a mentor instead of part of a team chasing wins, Rubio excelled. Always smiling, the quotes that were once saved for Alexey Shved were passed on to Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns.

In 2018, the team and its favorite son would part ways. Rubio would prove to be the best predictor of good things to come for young shooting guards as he would pair with a rookie Donovan Mitchell, a mid-breakout Devin Booker, and eventually, in a return home, a rookie Anthony Edwards.

While the Ricky Rubio experience rarely saw the Wolves make the playoffs, he brought something far more important for fans. For a franchise that had lain dormant throughout years and years of awful product and uninspiring management, Ricky was a breath of fresh air. He was a reason to watch for a team that had once given away tickets for a handful of canned goods.

Rubio saved Minnesota Timberwolves basketball for a full generation of fans. He is beloved by any and everyone who ever knew him, both as a fan and as a person, and we wish him the best in retirement.

His impact will never fade, as he is synonymous with optimism in this fan base. So, for one last time, let’s remember to always “change that face. Be happy.”