Ricky Rubio looked confused.
He stood in the middle of his home court, surrounded by teammates and screaming fans, but his eyes were empty, weighing the weight of this moment. Utah Jazz teammates were high-fiving each other, and some even jumped up and down excitedly and bumped their chests. All the fans stood up and applauded; on the other end of the court, the Portland Trail Blazers lowered their heads and walked in one after another. Long corridor leading to the lounge.
All of the above happened because Rubio did something he "shouldn't" do:Throw the ball into the basket. At the last moment of the overtime, the Jazz led by four points. He bypassed the screen set by Rudy Gobert and stepped into the three-point line at the top of the arc. Damian Lillard stretched his arms to guard him and still made the shot. Give the Blazers the key goal to defeat.
This is definitely not the Rubio we know, at least before this season. Before being traded from Minnesota to Salt Lake City in the Southwest this past June, Rubio was known throughout the league for his excellent passing skills andVery poor shot. But when he faced Portland that night, Rubio actually scored a game-high 30 points, and what was even more shocking was that he only had 1 assist in the game."Who the hell is he? I thought we got a pass-first playmaker!"After a series of scoring bursts at the beginning of the season, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder couldn't help but say this with a smile.
In fact, Rubio was something of an enigma during his time in Utah. His first highlight video was posted on YouTube back in August 2006, when he was leading the Spanish national team as a teenager, toying with his over-the-neck passes and spinning moves that completely frightened his opponents. Only 14 years old. His name soon appeared on DraftExpress.com (a well-known American draft simulation, prediction, and analysis website), and he was ranked as the key star of the U-16 Champions League within two years. Fast forward five years later, and Rubio is ready to ascend to the highest level of basketball in the world, and his name is still mentioned among the top prospects. He is expected to become the next "Pistol" Pete Maravich, or a white chocolate with defensive and leadership skills; he may become the best passer in history, after all, his talent has been clearly demonstrated on the court.
"He's like Spain's little Justin Bieber. The fans are always crazy about him. Everyone wants to see him, touch him, or just say hello. He's in the minds of those Lu fans. , it’s more important than the content of the game.”
—Joe Ingles
The 27-year-old Rubio, who is at the peak of his football season, has been nearly halfway through his life as a professional player; however, once his name is mentioned, most fans will still think of "a former great who did not develop as expected" rather than him. It has actually been a steady output over the past few years. When he was just a teenager, his growth seemed to far exceed that of other outstanding players of the same age, and even fell beyond the eyes of many experts; until he stepped into the top of the Forbidden City where there are many masters, this all-around The genius has transformed from a "prodigy" into a solid but flawed mainstay, and he is still unable to move forward after a few years. Now he is about to enter the most glorious period of his career as a professional player, and the Jazz have chosen to take a gamble, believing that he can continue to evolve at this age. Snyder said:
"There are a lot of players under him (Rubio).) at this age, you will feel that they have reached the peak of their career, whether they are not working hard enough to break through, or they have tried their best to reach their limit; Ricky Although he is already a veteran and has a place in the league, he still has a strong desire for the game, eager to improve and receive new knowledge. I believe he has definitely not reached his ceiling yet. "
The labels affixed to Rubio have been constant over the past 13 years:Basketball Golden Boy, The Invisible Man, Box Office Guarantee, Outcast…And now, he really felt needed. Sitting in an office at the team's practice facility, Rubio leaned back and said leisurely:"I'm ready to do something special, ready to take my next step."Pausing for a moment, his hair was long and his beard was as wild as he wanted. His voice was self-evidently confident."I've been playing a little hesitant for the past few years, and now I don't have any confusion anymore."
Rubio loves the city of Utah; correction: "I love Utah," he said. Having to leave the first team I played for in my career, at the beginning, the emotions were always mixed."It's like transferring to a new school. You'll be sad because you have to leave all your friends; but when you don't have a good time at the previous school, you want to move on, but you still You’re not sure because you’re in an unfamiliar place.”In the past two years in Minnesota, trade rumors about him have not stopped until Utah was determined to be the next stop of his career. He said:"I think this transaction happened at the right time and in the right place."
When he gave the above interview, the Jazz had only played in 8 games; Rubio seemed to fit in perfectly with the team.Averaging 17.5 points and shooting 44%, the Jazz got off to a 5-3 start.; But since then, the Jazz's offense has been like a derailed train. Starting star center Gobert has to miss 4-6 weeks due to a knee injury; Gordon Hayward, the team's leading scoring point, switched to the East Coast as early as the off-season. ; Field veteran Joe Johnson's skills are no longer what they used to be. After playing 7 games in the first season, he also had to go to the factory for minor repairs due to a wrist injury...The Jazz's offense quickly stagnated, falling to 24th in the league. Rubio is a point guard who can make the scorers around him more comfortable. The same is true for the Jazz. The explosive but unstable rookie Donovan Mitchell and the declining Rodney Hood are his first two choices on the court; but when this The two of them couldn't score points smoothly. No matter how selfless he was, he could only shoulder the burden of scoring; Rubio was still Rubio. He was forced to be responsible for scoring that he was not good at. After playing for a long time, his shooting percentage was revealed. In the past ten games, He only had a dismal 35% shooting percentage.
"I don't want to read too much into his shot."Snyder told the media against Minnesota.
"I think Ricky's greatest value to the team lies first in his leadership, his mentality and his ability to unite his teammates. I don't want him to judge his contribution only by his shooting. I hope he can make his teammates perfect. Integration, and when it's his turn to take action, he's able to make decisive reads...these are things he's always been good at."
Compared with the surprisingly smooth start to the season, Rubio and the Jazz are now faltering. For a long time, he has always seemed to continue to improve in a basketball career that has almost occupied his life. Whether it is the rapid development during the Spanish national team, or the days of playing in Minnesota while enduring trade rumors, Rubio seems to know what to do in the future. Even now, in the midst of an embarrassing period of struggle with the Jazz, Rubio still manages to embrace every day he can play, no matter what the future holds."I have to tell myself that today's game is the most important thing."
This is a subject he has spent his whole life trying to learn.
█
"do not Cry."
That was the first lesson Rubio learned when he first stepped onto a basketball court.
He was only 4 years old at the time, a quiet, shy, well-mannered little boy and the son of a basketball coach. His father teaches basketball in a beach town called El Masnou near Barcelona. The local basketball club stipulates that children under the age of 6 cannot receive formal basketball training; Young Rubio could only quietly hold a basketball about the same size as himself, sitting on the sidelines and watching his brother Marc running back and forth on the court.
Like any kid who loves basketball, Rubio couldn't wait to join his brother's team, so he started begging his mom to find a way for him to play too. However, the coach told Ricky that he was still too young and rejected Little Ricky. When he passed his sixth birthday, the coach finally explained to him the reason why he had to turn six years old: Little children always cry for some reason, maybe they missed a shot, or the ball was stolen, Or maybe he was elbowed by a teammate.Once they cry, it will be difficult to get the entire training or game back on track..
Because of this, the coach allowed Rubio to play as long as he could hold back his tears. Little Ricky therefore managed to swallow the flickers that were spinning in his eyes during practice, endured them again and again, and transformed the unexpressed emotions into motivation for performance and improvement on the court. As the weeks pass by, young Ricky Rubio is already one of the best players in the club's six-year-old group.
This training process undoubtedly laid the foundation for his psychological quality. Nearly a decade later, 14-year-old Rubio sits in the gym playing with his new club team, DKV Joventut. Rubio was already well-known throughout the junior club ranks, but he was watching his seniors practice. Several of the seniors were absent due to national team training, which also left a shortage of manpower for group competitions. The coach wanted to practice five-on-five, but there were only nine seniors present. So the coach paid attention to Ricky Rubio, a U-16 future star full of potential.
"Did you bring any sneakers?"He remembered the coach asking him directly.
Rubio looked down at his feet. He was wearing flip-flops, since he had just come back from the beach.
"Go get me a pair!"The coach yelled impatiently.
I hurriedly went to borrow a pair of sneakers from a friend, put them on my feet, tied the laces, and then Rubio came on the court. The scene on the entire court seemed uncoordinated: a little one shuttled among a crowd of adults. Then, he made a move that he had practiced for a long time: creating angles that other players had never imagined, gambling to steal the opponent's dribble, timing the ball perfectly, and passing the ball through the heart. , the hostile defensive formation seemed designed to let him shine. After practice, head coach Aíto García pulled Rubio aside. His team had a game the next day, and he wanted Rubio on his staff.
"My immediate reaction was"oh! My mom, is this really fake? 』But that's not what I thought"This is so crazy", but"No, I have classes at school tomorrow!" 』"
Once again, Rubio begged his mother to stop going to class. Thank God, Lu’s mother agreed to his request, allowing Rubio, who is only 14 years old, to travel with the team to Granada, a city in southern Spain. The assistant coach told him to be ready, because he is not just going out there to guard special forces. The 14-year-old boy will stand on the court as the starting point guard. In this world other than the NBA, The largest basketball league.
"I really had no idea what I was doing. When you're 14, everything in the world is beautiful and harmless, like sunshine and flowers. I just thought, 'Okay, I'm going to do this now. Playing in a league called ACB." But I didn't realize that this whole thing was very abnormal. I naively thought it was just a change of place to play with a group of friends. "It's just basketball. I love playing and I can play well. That’s right, so this time I came to the ACB League to learn my skills!’ Or so I thought.”
—Ricky Rubio
This experience is a perfect annotation for Rubio's teenage years: he continues to win in over-age leagues and continues to prove one thing:I am no longer a creature of this place.. (The Ringer)
Continue to the next article:Find yourself in Salt Lake City! The reborn Ricky Rubio is ready to bloom (Part 2)
