Ricky Rubio is a six-year NBA veteran that signed a $55 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2014 and currently earns $14.1 million this season. Over his career, he has averaged a solid 10.5 points per game and 8.1 assists per game. This is a picture of a successful NBA career and his journey to the NBA started at the tender age of 14 in the Spanish leagues.
He was the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish ACB league and by age 16, he moved on to the Euroleague where he eventually became a star player. His legend grew during his time there and he was drafted by the Timberwolves in 2009 before joining in 2011.
Ricky Rubio was able to pursue his dream of playing basketball professionally without the scrutiny that the Ball family receives for essentially following a similar path to the NBA. Why is that?
Were Ricky Rubio’s parents exploiting him when they shipped him off to play in pro leagues? Were Rubio’s parent’s being irresponsible when they took him out of school and let him earn a living playing basketball? The answers to these questions are subjective, but it’s pretty safe to say that Rubio’s parents were not subjected to the same doubts, questions, and personal attacks that LaVar Ball faces for employing a similar strategy.
After the HEAT defeated the Jazz on a last-second shot by Josh Richardson, I spoke with Ricky Rubio after the game and asked him to share his thoughts on LaMelo and LiAngeon Ball playing professionally in Lithuania.
LaVar Ball is brash, loud, and arrogant and that might rub some people the wrong way, but what he is doing with his sons is really nothing new. Whether it’s professional tennis, soccer, hockey, or baseball, families around the world train their children to pursue their passion to play professionally. For sports families, the journey to the pros becomes a family business with opportunities for revenue and profit that materialize along the way.
This is essentially what LaVar Ball has done with his family, so it puzzles me as to why he is attacked so frequently and painted as a villain. Rubio simply said “if they go over there it’s because they want it,” which is essentially what he did as a 14-year-old kid.
Rubio and his family decided that they wanted to go the Spanish leagues while still a teenager and it worked out extremely well for them. Rubio’s success shows that perhaps the strategy the LaVar Ball has deployed to get his sons to the NBA is not as crazy as it seems.