By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Preparing to return to action with Joventut Badalona in the Basketball Champions League and Spain’s Liga Endesa, Ricky Rubio revisited his professional debut at age 14 with plenty of promising youngsters also earning top-tier experience in recent weeks, including 13-year-old Mohamed Dabone with FC Barcelona.
“It almost seems like exploitation,” the 34-year-old point guard mentioned in a recent interview with Gigantes, “If you have the necessary quality at 13, you’ll probably be able to play at 16 or 17, too, or at 18.”
Early in the 2005-06 season, Rubio himself set a new record for the youngest player to play in the ACB, debuting with Badalona shortly before turning 15.
“There should be professionals, who already exist, to see at what stage to start playing,” he painted the picture on the requirements, “There will always be debate, ‘this guy is more mature at 16 and another at 18. Yes, but a rule must be set, behind studies with people who understand the whole issue a little better.”
“You can’t drive a car at 16. Some 16-year-olds might be more inclined to drive a car than an 18-year-old, and they don’t complain because that’s the law. I think debuting in a professional team, where you enter a very dangerous world because you’re open to so many things, should be regulated,” he added.
In 2023, Rubio took a sabbatical from professional basketball to address his mental health. He bounced back late in the 2023-24 season, suiting up for Barcelona, and sat out the 2024-25 season before reuniting with Badalona in July.
“I have learned a lot,” he went into his approach, “I have been able to focus on myself. It is hard for me to talk about this, but I think I am doing something good for people who perhaps are going through the same thing I did.”