On Friday afternoon, Ricky Rubio and Spain will take on the United States in an Olympic semifinal match. The U.S. hasn’t lost a game yet in Brazil, but they have been tested three times in the group stage in games against Australia, Serbia, and France, so one would think the Spaniards have at least a puncher’s chance in that matchup.
Rubio hasn’t been playing a huge role for Spain in the Games, but he’s still a valuable bench piece, and will likely get some major minutes against his fellow NBA foes.
But Rubio almost didn’t even bother representing his country in this year’s Olympics. The Timberwolves point guard lost his mother this past May, and as he recently told the Associated Press, he almost opted to stay at home with his family instead of traveling to Rio.
“At one point when everything happened, you think what’s the best?” Rubio said. “Stay with your family? Stay back home? Or sacrifice one more time everything for one goal, which is the gold medal, and dedicate it to her.”
Rubio said he even had second thoughts about his NBA career last season when his mother, Tona, was sick with lung cancer, and he wondered if he should be with her instead of playing basketball.
“Sometimes at night during the season I was going through hell…Waking up in, who knows, Sacramento, in LA, in the middle of the night alone in a hotel and thinking, ‘Why am I here? Is it really worth it?'”
Rubio ultimately stuck it out and he is dedicating his Olympic run to her memory. Although us Americans will undoubtedly be rooting for Team USA in the matchup today, it’s hard not to also pull for Rubio after what he has gone through in these past few months.
(Via Associated Press)
