'Never too high. Never too low.': How Ricky Rubio has learned to find balance in his life

May 12, 2024

If you are a fan of the Utah Jazz, or a fan of Ricky Rubio, or follow the Jazz point guard on social media, you’ve probably seen the statement above. It’s something Rubio posts ever-so-often, usually after a big win, or even a crushing loss.

Rubio the basketball player lives by those words. After all, he’s spent over half his life playing professionally, in Spain, his native country, and in the NBA.

Rubio the basketball player, has gone through drastic changes. He’s the youngest player (17) ever to be in the starting lineup of an Olympic gold medal game. There are times when he looks like one of the best point guards in the league, where his defense and his playmaking are both complemented during stretches where he makes shots from all over the floor and becomes a viable scoring option. There are times when he struggles, where he turns the ball over, can’t make a shot when left wide open on the perimeter, and can’t keep some of the quicker point guards of the NBA in front of him.

That is some of the good and some of the bad you get from Ricky Rubio. And he’s learned to let it all go. Ricky Rubio the man, lives solely by those words above.

Rubio’s life has been challenging. He’s dealt with the death of his mother Tona, who passed away from cancer. He’s dealt with having to acclimate to a new country where he encountered loneliness, instability within the organization that drafted him, a significant language barrier, and even a bout of depression. He’s dealt with the pressure of being a young star in his home country, losing some of the innocence of not having a childhood, and criticism because he’s just a solid NBA starter, and not an NBA superstar.

All by the age of 28.

“You can either choose to be high, or choose to be low,” Rubio told The Athletic. “You can either use it for good or bad. You can learn from it, or you can use it as an excuse. Everyone goes through things in life. How you learn from it defines you.”

Through it all, Rubio has kept an even keel in his short time with the Utah Jazz. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are the two dynamic talents for the franchise, and the unquestioned best players on the team. But Rubio, in so many ways, is the barometer. If he plays well, if he runs a smooth offense, if he is getting to his spots and making shots, the Jazz are almost always difficult to beat. If he’s not playing well, if he’s turning the basketball over, if his shots are clanging off the side of the rim, the Jazz can still be competitive, but their ultimate ceiling lowers significantly.

That’s Rubio’s plight with the Utah Jazz, and a metaphor for his personal life. There’s always significant responsibility on his shoulders. But he shrugs it off, moves forward and deals with whatever comes. He knows that’s what he has to do, for his own good and for the good of the Jazz.

“That’s been Ricky from day one,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “He’s always been someone who thrives with pressure.”

Less than two years out from the Gordon Hayward free agency of 2017, you tend to forget the Jazz traded a first-round pick for Rubio in order to acquire a starting point guard and appease their star player. At the time, it was thought Rubio’s acquisition would be enough to entice Hayward to stay in a Jazz uniform. Obviously that turned out to not be the case.

When Rubio spoke to Jazz management, the conversation was basketball-related. Then, he changed the subject.

“What can I do to help in the community?” Rubio asked.

That’s been Rubio for much of his pro basketball days. It’s a reason he’s still beloved in Minnesota, where he spent so much of his career running the point for the Timberwolves. He’s always been giving of himself off the floor, and that hasn’t changed with the Jazz.

He is an ambassador for 5 For The Fight, a campaign to battle cancer. He’s visited patients at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. He’s participated in fundraising, made commercials, and generously given his time all aspects of the campaign.

For Rubio, it’s personal. Tona Vives, Rubio’s mother, died at the age of 55 from lung cancer, contracting the illness despite never having smoked in her lifetime. In so many ways, Vives has shaped Rubio, who he is, what he wants to be in the future. And her plight shaped who he’s become on and off the floor.

“I think, NBA players, it’s not just basketball,” Rubio said. “It’s bigger than that. We make a big impact. We set an example for the kids. We have a big responsibility to be engaged. I don’t want to be on a team where I feel like I’m not having a big impact in the community. At the end of the day, we’re more than just basketball players. We can reach a lot of people.

“I was already a giver. My mom taught me that way. Going through what she went through helped me connect to people going through that. I realized, there was no time. Why wait to make an impact? We can do it now, and not make excuses to do it in the future.”

Vives loved her three children, and the people around them. She constantly gave to her family, while expecting them to have a keen attention to detail. Rubio plays basketball as a perfectionist, and much of that trait can be traced to his mother.

She ensured Rubio and his two siblings had whatever they needed during childhood. When Rubio would have friends over for dinner, his mother would remember their favorite dish and cook it for them. Rubio thought it was all routine, that this is what a parent was supposed to do. It wasn’t until after her death that Rubio realized how unique and giving his mother truly was.

“She gave her life to her three kids,” Rubio said. “Now that she’s gone, we know how much she did for us. She put her whole family on her back.”

NBA life hasn’t always been easy for Rubio. When the Jazz made the playoffs last season, it was the first time in Rubio’s career that one of his teams had made the postseason. There, he played some of the best basketball of his career as the Jazz defeated Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder. And then, almost cruelly, he suffered an injury and had to sit the second round as the Jazz lost to the Houston Rockets.

In Minnesota, Rubio was lonely. Yes, there were good times. He loves Minneapolis, loved the community and forged a bond there when he finally got comfortable with American life. But, losing was difficult. Playing for multiple coaches proved difficult. And coming of age in America was difficult for him.

“It was hard at times, but I needed to go through that,” Rubio said. “If I hadn’t, I would know what I know now. I’ve always been a perfectionist. At one point in my life, everything had to be perfect. Now, if I have a bad game, I don’t carry it to the next game, or carry it to the next play.

“In Minnesota, I wish I had a consistent culture, but that helped me learn a lot. I appreciate what I have right now.”

More important, Rubio has learned to adapt. Off the court, he learned English by memorizing the television show “Friends” in Spanish, and learning the English equivalent. On the court, he knows that he will never light up a scoreboard like Steph Curry. But he also knows his strengths can help a team.

And, when he came to the Jazz, the Jazz helped him by encouraging him. For so long, so many coaches have told him not to shoot the basketball. The Jazz emancipated him. Quin Snyder and Igor Kokoskov — now the head coach for the Phoenix Suns — they encouraged him to shoot the ball and to be aggressive offensively.

Rubio is averaging 11.3 field goal attempts per game this season, the most of his career. (Photo: Jeff Swinger / USA TODAY Sports)

“There were so many times where me and Igor would be watching film, and we would just stop talking basketball, and just talk about life,” Rubio said. “That helped me so much.”

At 28, Rubio says he feels stronger than ever. He was once close to being mentally burned out with basketball, but a trade and his mother’s fight has rejuvenated him on the court and in life. Rubio has learned to let the small stuff go, to embrace his moment and to appreciate everything he has. He still has his good and bad days, but he has an understanding of each. And, most important, his physical and mental health are stronger than ever.

He’s in his prime now, the point guard and barometer of the Utah Jazz. But none of that fazes him too much, anymore. He’s learned to love. More importantly, he’s learned to let go.

Never too high. Never too low.

(Photo: David Sherman / NBAE via Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lmtwcW1iZH9xfZdoaGtnYml8r7HVnqlmrJ%2Bkeqm1xqFkp52mmr9uwM6oZKWnp2K1sMOMq6Cco6liv7auyKhkoZmjYrmmrdGnnJ1lpKR6p7XNnWSbmZyWu6SxjKKlZqCZqHqttcWeZg%3D%3D