The Phoenix Suns got one of the most underrated point guards in the entire NBA this season when they signed Ricky Rubio.
Ricky Rubio was the first player born in the 90s to be drafted, and some folks at the time hailed him to be the next coming of Pete Maravich with his knack for passing and dribbling flare. His floppy hairstyle didn’t hurt. Perhaps his lofty comparison plays into the fact he is a woefully underrated basketball player and that was no more evident than this year, his first with the Phoenix Suns.
Last offseason, the Utah Jazz let Rubio go as an unrestricted free agent in favor of bringing in Mike Conley from Memphis. It is safe to say, that is a decision they are regretting.
Conley averaged just 14.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this season, a far cry from his 21 points per game last season with the Grizzlies. Moreover, he had a mere 2.5 win-shares. To be fair, he played better than this during the playoffs, but missing the would-be game-winning buzzer-beater in Game-7 of the first round put an exclamation point on what was a disappointing season for Conley.
Phoenix Suns’ Ricky Rubio is extremely underrated.
Contrast Conley’s play with what Rubio did for the Phoenix Suns. While Rubio did not score as much as Conley, he still put up a career-high 13 points per game. On top of this, the Spanish Maestro finished 2nd in the NBA in total assists including a career-best 8.8 per contest. And in case you need another impressive stat, he accounted for 4.9 win-shares this season.
What adds insult to injury, Mike Conley is due a whopping $34.5 million next season while the Suns will be paying Rubio less than half that, at $17 million.
Now, I’m not saying Rubio is in the top echelon of NBA point guards, however he is in a much higher tier than many give him credit. Bleacher Report didn’t have him in their top-15, ranking the likes of Lou Williams and Phoenix Suns’ fan-favorite Eric Bledsoe above him.
The fact is, Ricky Rubio is one of the best passers and floor generals in the entire NBA. He may not light up the scoreboard or make highlight reels with pull-up 3s from halfcourt, but he is exactly what the Phoenix Suns needed this year, and should continue to build upon the momentum created by the ending this season.
Ricky Rubio isn’t Pete Maravich. He’s Ricky Rubio. And Ricky Rubio is criminally underrated.