Ricky Rubio recently made a return to professional basketball a month after announcing his retirement from the NBA. The point guard signed a short-term contract with Euroleague team FC Barcelona, which lasts until the end of the season.
Last year, Rubio took a leave from the Cleveland Cavaliers, citing mental health reasons as the cause. Being sidelined for months, the Spaniard eventually parted ways with the team via a contract buyout following his retirement.
Now, as he prepares for a fresh start back in Europe, Rubio opened up on the mental health obstacles that plagued him prior to stepping away from the game.
“I developed a chronic stress, something similar to an anxiety disorder,” Rubio said, per m.basketnews.com. “The only way to come back was to understand why I got to this point. I developed mechanisms that had led me to play at a high level but which were not sustainable. There is another way. Rome is reached by many paths.”
The floor general also emphasized how his identity as a player clashed with who he is as a person.
“The player ate the person. I didn’t know who I was. It was a difficult moment for me. I had fear. You are able to handle your fears and play down them. Life is full of greys. But I have saved myself, and now I am at ease. I am proud of myself, and I give basketball a new chance,” Rubio added.
Considering how the point guard played 17.2 minutes a game during his final season with the Cavs, he surely has some gas left in the tank. And looking at what he’s had to deal with, seeing Ricky Rubio back on the floor is a smile-inducing sight for many fans.
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