Minnesota Timberwolves lose Ricky Rubio for the season with torn ACL – NBA Update
Ricky Rubio, the young point guard, who had taken the league by storm, is done for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee, the team announced on Saturday.
"I feel bad for Ricky having to miss the rest of this season," Wolves president David Kahn said in a statement. "But Ricky is a competitor, and I am confident that he will work hard to get back on the court next year and continue his progression as one of the top point guards in our league."
There was a time last season when the Minnesota Timberwolves could barely get the fans to fill half the seats in the arena. You could have hardly blamed the fans as even with Kevin Love in the roster, the Wolves were losing one game after another and eventually finished off as the season’s worst team.
However, all that changed this season – with the arrival of the Spanish swingman.
The bubbly, stylish, unselfish and fun loving point guard infused energy in the T’Wolves, brought the team together and with 10.6 points and 8.2 assists in just his rookie year, put the Twin Cities franchise on course to a potential place in playoffs.
However, now, with Rubio gone, those post season hopes have dealt a big blow and as Rick Adelman, the head coach at the franchise, the team will have change the way it plays.
Rubio suffered the injury in the dying moments of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. With the ball in Kobe Bryant’s hand and the game on the line at 101-102, Rubio tried to block Kobe going into the lane when his knee bumped into that of Bryant and buckled. He immediately held his knee and winced in pain before eventually being helped out of the court by Martell Webster and Derrick Williams.
An MRI report on Saturday confirmed a torn ligament in the left knee.
Such has been his impact on the league, that Rubio’s injury has drawn well wished from the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade and even Kobe Bryant himself.
Wade said in his tweet;
"Ricky Rubio's injury isn't 1 that any basketball fan wanted 2 C," Wade tweeted. "He's had an amazing rookie season & has brought life back 2 a franchise."
The Wolves eventually lost that game, but little did they know that in that one moment, they had lost the man who brought life to their troubled team which lost 132 game in the last two seasons combined.
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