Minnesota Timberwolves’ Season Review: Ricky Rubio

Can Ricky Rubio build on his successful 2016-2017 season?

When Ricky Rubio was drafted as the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, he came with a lot of hype and a lot of hope.

He was best known for his flashy, highlight reel worthy passes that quickly turned him into an internet sensation:

All of that certainly translated quickly to the NBA game once he finally arrived on the scene.

Unfortunately, so did one other thing that made some NBA scouts nervous about Rubio… his ability to hit a jump shot and his ability to finish at the rim, or lack thereof.

During this past season, Rubio put together arguably his best all-around season of his NBA career. He averaged career highs in points per game (11.1), assists per game (9.1), free throw percentage (89.1 percent) and most importantly, field goal percentage where he shot 40.2 percent from the field (his previous best FG percentage was 38.1percent back in the 2012-13 season).

Let’s take this a step further and look at his stats after the all-star break when Rubio really took his game to the next level:

FG percentage: 42.0

FT percentage: 91.7

3PT percentage: 35.3

PPG: 15.95

APG: 10.5

RPG: 4.62

SPG: 1.54

Usage Rate: 22.4 percent (Pre All-Star break: 15.1 percent)

Two stats here really stick out.

His scoring went up and his shooting got better (and more consistent). We can probably chalk up his scoring increase in the 2nd half of the season due to a significant bump in his usage rate, which was caused by a few factors.

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One being Zach LaVine’s ACL injury that put him on the sidelines for the remainder of the season.

The other is Tom Thibodeau’s emphasis on playing his starters heavy minutes.

The most important factor though is that Ricky Rubio was able to put together his most consistent stretch of scoring since he arrived in Minnesota while also shooting at a respectable percentage.

Ricky Rubio having to quiet his critics wasn’t the only controversy that he faced this past season.

The 2016-17 season was really the first time in his career where he faced serious doubt about his future in Minnesota.

It started when the Timberwolves hired Tom Thibodeau as the Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations.

It continued and appeared as if Rubio’s fate was sealed when the Timberwolves selected point guard Kris Dunn out of Providence with the fifth pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Dunn was considered by many scouts to be the best and most NBA-ready point guard in the draft.

When the Timberwolves selected him, many suspected it may be the end of the road for Ricky Rubio in a Minnesota Timberwolves uniform.

However, Ricky Rubio appeared to embrace the challenge and the competition.

He even took Kris Dunn under his wing as he adapted to the NBA game. Dunn’s struggles during his rookie campaign are well documented, but the fact that Rubio was able to step up his game and have his best statistical season of his career leads me to believe that we still haven’t seen the best of Ricky Rubio yet.

2016-17 Season Grade: A-

After a slow start to the season and adjusting to Tom Thibodeau’s offense, Rubio really came on and started to show some of that promise that he displayed while playing overseas in Europe.

He also didn’t wilt under the pressure of a new coach and GM, as well as another top five point guard brought in by the new regime.

It will be interesting to see what happens this offseason in terms of personnel moves.

We will find out first hand what Tom Thibodeau really thinks of Rubio, depending upon if he trades him or opts to keep him around.

Next: A brief history of the NBA draft lottery

If Rubio is back for the 2017-18 campaign and he can continue to improve his shooting efficiency, the Timberwolves should find themselves in the playoff conversation near the end of the season.