“Love You Mi Hermano”: Donovan Mitchell Tips His Hat to Ricky Rubio as Spanish Star Bids Farewell to NBA

Veteran point guard Ricky Rubio has announced his retirement from the NBA after an illustrious 12-year career. Rubio released a heartfelt statement about his retirement and how he has been dealing with mental health issues for some time. The announcement came after Rubio agreed to a contract buyout with the Cleveland Cavaliers because he has been unavailable for several months to work on his mental health.

Rubio’s long-time teammate Donovan Mitchell tipped his hat to the Spanish star and bid adieu to him following the announcement.

Donovan Mitchell gives Ricky Rubio his flowers

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Donovan Mitchell has been Ricky Rubio’s teammate on two separate teams. They were teammates on the Utah Jazz squad from 2017 to 2019, and Mitchell was Rubio’s rookie during that time. They joined forces again in Cleveland and were teammates from 2022 until Rubio’s retirement. After Rubio announced his NBA retirement, Donovan shared a heartfelt message about his veteran leader on his Instagram story. “Taught me so much in this game… I appreciate you more than you know! Love You Mi Hermano.” Mitchell wrote with a picture of him and Rubio from their Utah days.

Rubio played some of his career’s best basketball in Utah. During his two seasons with the Jazz, Rubio averaged 12.9 points and 5.7 assists. Donovan Mitchell got to learn a lot from the veteran point guard during his rookie and sophomore seasons. That has helped Mitchell turn into the superstar he is today.

Even though Ricky Rubio has not had as great a career as some of the players from his draft class, his NBA legacy will live on for a long time.

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Ricky Rubio’s NBA legacy

Ricky Rubio was drafted 5th overall in the 2009 NBA draft ahead of future superstars like Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan. That shows how much trust the Minnesota Timberwolves had in the Spanish sensation. Rubio played 2 years in Barcelona and officially began his NBA journey in 2011. He was an elite playmaker right off the bat and helped the Timberwolves win several games. After playing 7 seasons in Minnesota, Rubio took his talents to Utah. Rubio finally culminated his career with a 3-year stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Apart from his NBA achievements, Ricky Rubio also achieved greatness playing for his country. He led Spain to the FIBA World Cup trophy in 2019 after beating Argentina 95-75 in the Final. Rubio will go down as one of the best Spanish players to play in the NBA. Even though his NBA journey is over, we might see Rubio suiting up in his home country somewhere down the road. Meanwhile, the NBA world can look back and appreciate the great career of one of the most underrated point guards in the NBA.

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