Joventut (2005–2009) Rubio debuted in the
Spanish ACB League in the 2005–06 season with
DKV Joventut. Rubio was the youngest player ever to debut in the ACB, at 14 years and 11 months. He won the
FIBA EuroChallenge championship with Joventut that year. He led the Spanish ACB League in steals during the 2006–07 season. He also won the Spanish ACB League's
Rising Star Award that season. Rubio was also named the
FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year in 2007, 2008, and 2009. He made his
EuroLeague debut on 24 October 2006, versus
Panathinaikos of
Athens as Joventut's backup point guard for
Elmer Bennett. He became the fifth-youngest EuroLeague player at the time. Rubio averaged 2.8 assists per game in his first season of EuroLeague play. He won the
EuroCup championship with Joventut in 2008. He was also voted
the Spanish ACB League's best point guard in 2008 and 2010. He won the
2009–10 EuroLeague with FC Barcelona. Despite his notability, he was carefully shielded.
DKV Joventut and Rubio's parents agreed not to make him available for interviews until his 18th birthday on 21 October 2008. The restrictions were ended a few months early once he was selected for the
Spain national team that would play at the
2008 Olympics. Rubio won the 2008
Mr. Europa Award, which was given out yearly by the Italian
Superbasket Magazine. In 2009, his club Badalona raised the amount of money his contract paid per year from 80,000 euros
net income to 300,000 euros net income. He was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the Spanish ACB League 2008–09 season, and he also led the league in steals that season. Rubio declared himself eligible for the
2009 NBA draft on 20 April 2009. Rubio's agent during that time was
Dan Fegan.
Barcelona (2009–2011) After the 2009 NBA draft, Rubio played for the
FC Barcelona for the next two seasons as agreed upon with the
Minnesota Timberwolves. During that time, he helped the team win the
EuroLeague Championship in 2010 and the
Liga ACB Championship in 2011.
Minnesota Timberwolves (2011–2017) On 24 June 2009, the
Minnesota Timberwolves acquired the fifth pick in the
2009 NBA draft,
Etan Thomas,
Darius Songaila and
Oleksiy Pecherov from the
Washington Wizards, in exchange for
Randy Foye and
Mike Miller. With the 5th pick, Minnesota selected Rubio, making him the first player born in the 1990s to be drafted with
Steph Curry still on the board. The Timberwolves had a total of four first-round picks in the 2009 NBA draft. They used the 6th and 18th picks in the first round and chose two other point guards,
Jonny Flynn from
Syracuse and
Ty Lawson from
North Carolina, surprising many in the NBA. Lawson's draft rights were soon traded to the
Denver Nuggets. Rubio had a buyout clause in his Joventut contract reported by various media outlets as ranging from $6.6 million to $8.2 million, and Timberwolves general manager
David Kahn admitted Rubio would probably have to play one more season in Spain to reduce or avoid the buyout. In another development, the
St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on 4 August Rubio's representatives had been actively seeking endorsement deals in Minnesota to help finance his buyout (the NBA buyout rules are binding on teams, but not on third parties). However, on 31 August 2009,
ESPN reported Rubio would not come to the NBA until 2011 at the earliest. with ESPN reporting the buyout at that time would be a more manageable $1.4 million (of which the Timberwolves could pay $500,000). On 17 June 2011, Rubio held a press conference announcing he had signed with Minnesota. Becoming the 10th Spanish NBA player, Rubio made his regular season debut on 26 December 2011, to a sellout crowd at the
Target Center, the team's first sellout crowd since the 2007–08 season. Rubio recorded 6 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in 26 minutes in a 4-point loss to the
Oklahoma City Thunder. He was named Western Conference
Rookie of the Month after the first month of the season. In February, Rubio and teammate
Derrick Williams were selected to participate in the 2012 Rising Stars challenge. Rubio was drafted to Team
Shaq, while Williams was drafted to Team
Chuck. Rubio scored 22 points on 19 February 2012 in a win over the
Philadelphia 76ers. In a loss to the
Los Angeles Lakers on 9 March 2012, Rubio tore his
ACL and his
lateral collateral ligament defending
Kobe Bryant. He missed the rest of the season. Rubio finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, trailing only
Cleveland Cavaliers rookie
Kyrie Irving. Rubio had averaged 10.6 points, 8.2 assists and 2.2 steals in 41 games.
2012–13 season Rubio returned from his injury on 15 December 2012, in an overtime victory over the
Dallas Mavericks, playing for 19 minutes and totaling 9 assists and 8 points. He then recorded his first career triple-double with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in a win over the San Antonio Spurs on 13 March 2013. Rubio almost recorded his second career triple-double in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on March 30 with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. Then on 13 April, he recorded a then career-high 24 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 steals in a win over the Phoenix Suns. Rubio finished the
2012–13 season with averages of 10.7 points, 7.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game. He also finished second in steals per game, behind
Chris Paul.
2013–14 season On 11 November 2013, Rubio recorded his second career triple-double with 12 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in a 113–90 win over the
Los Angeles Lakers. On 19 February 2014, Rubio recorded a career-high 17 assists, along with 6 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals, in a 104–91 win over the Indiana Pacers. Rubio also tied the Timberwolves' franchise record with his 17 assists. On 19 March 2014, Rubio recorded his third career triple-double with 22 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a 123–122 overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks. On 28 March 2014, Rubio tied
Tyrone Corbin for the Wolves season-record in steals at 175 with his one steal in a 143–107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Two days later, he passed that record when he recorded 2 steals against the Brooklyn Nets.
2014–15 season On 31 October 2014, Rubio signed a four-year, $56 million contract extension with the Timberwolves. On 1 November 2014, he was ruled out indefinitely after he severely sprained his left ankle in the 7 November game loss to the Orlando Magic. Rubio returned to action on 2 February 2015 against the Dallas Mavericks, recording 10 points and 4 assists in a 100–94 loss. On 2 March 2015, he recorded his fourth career triple-double with 18 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He later underwent surgery on his ankle in April 2015.
2015–16 season On 28 October 2015, Rubio scored a then career-high 28 points in a season opening win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He later missed four games with a sore left knee, returning to action on 17 November. On 16 December, he recorded a near quadruple-double with 12 assists, 10 rebounds, 9 points and 8 steals in a loss to the New York Knicks. On 30 December, he tied a career high with 17 assists in a 94–80 win over the Utah Jazz. Having recorded 14 assists two nights prior in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Rubio became the first Wolves player with at least 14 assists in consecutive games since
Terrell Brandon did so in April 1999. On 11 March 2016, Rubio's three-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining lifted the Timberwolves to a 99–96 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. He finished with 13 points and 12 assists for his eighth double-double of the season, as the Timberwolves snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Thunder. On 14 March against the Phoenix Suns, for the fourth time in his career, Rubio had a 17-assist effort.
2016–17 season On 11 January 2017, in a win over the Houston Rockets, Rubio had a 17-assist effort for the fifth time in his career. Rubio also passed
Sam Mitchell to move into fourth place on the team's career games played list with 292. On 30 January 2017, he made a then career-high six three-pointers to lead the Timberwolves to a 111–105 overtime victory over the Orlando Magic. He finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. On 4 March 2017, he recorded his fifth career triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 97–90 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs. On 13 March 2017, Rubio scored 22 points and broke his own franchise record with 19 assists in a 119–104 win over the Washington Wizards. Two days later, he had a season-high 23 points in a 117–104 loss to the Boston Celtics. On 30 March 2017, Rubio had a then career-high 33 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in a 119–104 win over the Lakers.
Utah Jazz (2017–2019) On 30 June 2017, Rubio was traded to the
Utah Jazz in exchange for a 2018 first-round draft pick. On 1 November 2017, Rubio scored a season-high 30 points in a 112–103 overtime win over the
Portland Trail Blazers. On 3 February 2018, he set a new season high with 34 points in a 120–111 win over the
San Antonio Spurs. On 11 March 2018, he had 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a 116–99 win over the
New Orleans Pelicans. In Game 3 of the Jazz's first-round playoff series against the
Oklahoma City Thunder, Rubio had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, as the Jazz took a 2–1 lead in the series with a 115–102 win. Rubio's triple-double was the first by a Jazz player in the postseason since
John Stockton in the 2001 playoffs against Dallas. In Game 6, Rubio suffered a left hamstring injury that rendered him out for the remainder of the playoffs.
Phoenix Suns (2019–2020) On 8 July 2019, Rubio signed with the
Phoenix Suns on a three-year, $51 million contract. On 23 October, Rubio put up 11 points and 11 assists in a 124–95 win over the
Sacramento Kings. His 11 assists tied
Elliot Perry as the only players to put up a double-double with 11 assists in a Suns debut game. On 16 December, Rubio put up his first triple-double with the Suns with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists in a 111–110 loss to the
Portland Trail Blazers. On 24 February 2020, Rubio put up 22 points, 11 assists, 7 steals, and 6 rebounds in a 131–111 win over his former team, the
Utah Jazz. He became the first Suns player to put up at least 20+ points, 10+ assists, and 7+ steals in a game since
Kevin Johnson back in 1996. Rubio recorded his second triple-double with the Suns on 8 March with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists in a 140–131 win over the
Milwaukee Bucks. On 23 June 2020, the Suns reported that two of their own players tested positive for
COVID-19. In a 22 July interview, Rubio revealed himself as one of the two players to test positive for the COVID-19 virus. However, Rubio would rejoin the team in the
2020 NBA Bubble removed from the virus during the team's scrimmage games for the resumed season, eventually returning on 31 July as a starter in a 125–112 win over the
Washington Wizards.
Second stint with Minnesota (2020–2021) On 16 November 2020, Rubio was traded to the
Oklahoma City Thunder alongside
Jalen Lecque,
Kelly Oubre Jr.,
Ty Jerome, and a 2022 first-round draft pick in a trade for
Chris Paul and
Abdel Nader. Two days later, Rubio and the draft rights to
Jaden McDaniels and
Leandro Bolmaro were traded to the
Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for
James Johnson, the draft rights to
Aleksej Pokuševski, and Minnesota's 2024 second-round selection.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2021–2024) On 3 August 2021, Rubio was traded to the
Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for
Taurean Prince, a 2022 second round pick, and cash considerations. On 7 November, Rubio scored 37 points and made eight three-pointers, both career highs, alongside 10 assists in a 126–109 win over the
New York Knicks. On 13 December, Rubio recorded his 5,000th career assist. On 28 December, he tore his left ACL during a game between the
New Orleans Pelicans, and the next day, it was confirmed to be a season-ending injury. On 7 February 2022, Rubio was traded to the
Indiana Pacers along with a lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick in exchange for
Caris LeVert and a 2022 second-round pick. Due to his knee injury, he never played a game for the team. On 8 July 2022, Rubio, still injured, returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year, $18 million contract. On 12 January 2023, Rubio made his return from injury, putting up nine points in ten minutes in his season debut, in a 119–113 win over the
Portland Trail Blazers. On 5 August 2023, Rubio decided to pause his career so he could focus on his mental health. On 4 January 2024, Rubio and the Cavaliers agreed to a contract buyout. Later that same day, Rubio announced his retirement from the NBA on social media.
Return to Barcelona (2024) On 6 February 2024, Rubio signed with
FC Barcelona for the remainder of the season. His contract with Barcelona ended on June 2024 and he didn't sign for any team for the 2024-25 season.{{cite web|title=El Barça libera a Ricky Rubio
Return to Joventut (2025–present) On 22 July 2025,
Joventut Badalona announced the return of Rubio, signing a one season contract 16 years after leaving his childhood club.{{cite web|title=Ricky Rubio torna a somriure ==National team career==