Ricky Rubio Is Retiring From The NBA: A Look Back At One Of The Most Underrated Highlight Mixtapes Ever

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Ricky Rubio has announced his retirement from the NBA after 12 seasons in the league. While the Spaniard won't go down as one of the all-time NBA greats and perhaps remembered by some as a player who never fully reached expectations, he is responsible for one of the best highlight mixtapes of all time.

Internationally, Rubio has had eyes on him since he was a teenager having become the youngest to ever play in the Spanish ACB League at just 14 years old. He then made the step up to the EuroLeague in 2006 and made his debut at 16 years old.

The hype surrounding Rubio heading into the 2009 NBA Draft was very real given his early success in the EuroLeague and flashes in the 2008 Olympics picking up minutes with Spain.

Rubio also declared for the NBA Draft when mixtapes on YouTube were at their peak. People would edit videos into oblivion showing the best plays from anyone with a semblance of hype, but one Rubio highlight tape, in particular, has stuck with me, and I'm sure many others, since first laying eyes on it.

The fact that the video is 10 minutes long and has Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Free Bird' playing over it makes it that much more iconic. Rubio making plays like some sort of hybrid version of Steve Nash and Jason Williams doesn't hurt the cause either.

I remember watching this video while in high school and praying that somehow, someway my then beloved Memphis Grizzlies would draft Rubio with the second-overall pick that offseason.

Instead, the Grizzlies drafted Hasheem Thabeet out of Connecticut who is one of the biggest busts of the 21st century and Rubio landed with the Minnesota Timberwolves three picks later. A guy by the name of Steph Curry went seventh overall that same year.

Rubio was named to the NBA All-Roookie First Team in 2012 after eventually joining Minnesota that season. Beyond that, he didn't pick up many other accolades in the NBA, but is calling it quits with multiple titles in Europe, two Olympic medals, and a World Cup gold medal.

The 33-year-old played for four different franchises during his NBA career, the last being the Cleveland Cavaliers. Rubio stepped away from the team this season to address mental health issues that he says he is still working on.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.