Ricky Rubio Admits He Needs to Get Stronger for the NBA


As he prepares to represent Spain at the EuroBasket tourney, Ricky Rubio knows that he must hit the weight room harder if he hopes to be succesful in the NBA. From the FIBA website: “A man who has already collected an Olympic silver medal, a European gold, ACB and Euroleague honours and played in a FIBA World Championship is not phased by much, and he is trying to bring his usual calm to this latest adventure. ‘I approach it with more hope than fear, and with great respect for things,’ [Rubio] said. ‘I have a huge desire to live this experience, both on the court and off it. I have never moved house before. I have never had that change. I want to have that change of culture, though I don’t want to lose the connection to family that I have.’ Rubio can expect the changes to be big, both on and off the court. ‘I think it will be physically harder than Europe – I will need to do more weights,’ he said of the NBA’s playing style. As for his living arrangements, he is having to consider things that were never a factor in Barcelona. ‘I need to find a house where I won’t get snowed in,’ he said. ‘My new colleagues have already told me where to look.'”