Through his first six seasons in the NBA as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Ricky Rubio never really lived up to the hype that he's built from playing four years of professional basketball in his home country of Spain.
The Wolves tried their best to make Rubio an offensive force. However, as time wore on, the crafty point guard's real strengths were drawn out from his cunning defense, averaging a little over two steals per game throughout his NBA career.
This upcoming season, Rubio's getting a fresh start with the Utah Jazz; a team that can definitely make the most out of his defensive prowess. Speaking with the local Spanish media (via Ryan McDonald of Deseret News), the 26-year-old couldn't be more thrilled with his new opportunity in Salt Lake City:
“I know what I can bring to the table… Of course my defense is a strength of mine. I’ve been working on my body this summer to be stronger and to be ready for this league that has so many good point guards and so many athletic point guards that every night you face top point guards and you have to be ready for that. I feel confident in my defense and I think I can really help the team to improve even more.”
Last season, Utah finished as the team that allowed the fewest points to its opposition at 96.8 points per game. The Jazz were also tied for second in the league with a 44.3 percent opponent field goal percentage. Head coach Quin Snyder should be just as ecstatic to have a shutdown perimeter defender in Rubio coming on board, as the Spaniard's natural defensive talent will keep his team's grind-it-out philosophy intact.
Although Rubio's offensive accuracy—his career field-goal shooting percentage is at a mere 37.5 percent clip—still needs some work, the Jazz's defense-first system will eventually draw out better scoring opportunities for him for as long as he embraces the team's system beginning this season.