Spanish Ex-NBA Star Gave Up Soccer Only to Backtrack on 23YO Decision: “It Disappointed Him”

Before Ricky Rubio could become a basketball star and find his way to the NBA, the former Minnesota Timberwolves player had to make a tough decision. Although basketball was his dad’s favorite sport, Rubio was also good at soccer. This made him eventually pick between the two sports, and it did not go as expected.

Rubio excelled in both soccer and basketball, so it was a difficult decision to stop basketball and continue playing soccer. In 2019, Ricky Rubio had a column on The Players’ Tribune called ‘For You, Mama‘. While talking about his life before the NBA, Rubio revealed how everything played out at the start of his story.

“I had decided between soccer and basketball. I was 10 years old, and how he(dad) tells it my mom made me choose one or the other. I chose soccer. It was the most popular sport and I was better at it. But Dad’s favorite was basketball — he actually coached a women’s basketball team back home. So hoops was his game. I knew it disappointed him just a little bit that I was going to give up on basketball. But then after a few weeks, soccer and I weren’t really getting along. And I missed basketball,” said Ricky Rubio.

Rubio tried his luck in soccer, but he soon realized that the sport didn’t have his heart. He missed basketball and confessed to his mother that he wanted to make a return. Although his parents had already paid for soccer and it was mid-season, his dad found a way for him to get into a local sporting club.

Maybe it was fate that Rubio didn’t like soccer after a few weeks. His decision to return to basketball changed his future, and it eventually led him to find his way to the NBA.

Ricky Rubio had a great professional career

Although Rubio was drafted in 2009, he spent another two years playing professionally in Spain before making his debut in 2011. Over the years, he has played for 4 different teams while being a good player on court and being a mentor to the younger guys off it as well.

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Even though Rubio is just 33 years old, he has been playing professional basketball for over half of his life. Rubio was the youngest player ever to play in the ACB when he made his debut at the age of 14. But now, he has finally decided to hang up his jersey, as he announced his retirement from the NBA earlier this month.

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How do you feel about Ricky Rubio’s childhood memory of leaving basketball to focus on soccer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!