In which I find my new favorite basketball player

Anytime a player enters the NBA drawing to comparisons to Pistol Pete and looking like he should be in the Arctic Monkeys, I get excited. So excited, in fact, that I'm easily more pumped to see where Ricky Rubio lands today than I am to see what happens with the Bulls.

The Bulls' Thursday will likely end with Tyler Hansbrough's stupid face holding up a red jersey. As a Bulls fan, that's conservative, boring, and probably kind of smart. But as a Rubio fan, tomorrow's possibilities are endless.

It's a big day for me. To be honest, what team Rubio goes to will have more impact on my life than whoever the Bulls choose to be their 7th man of the future. I've already decided Rubio's my new favorite player (non-Bull, at least). It's a big commitment. I will watch him on TV, play with him in video games, and wear his j-shirt to parties. Clearly, this is a huge deal. That's why I'm stealing a page out of Stompy's book and ranking the teams I'd like to see Rubio play for. Warning: FD-style liberated fandom ahead.



I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the trade that sent Minnesota the Wizards' No. 5 overall pick cost them Mike Miller. That means they're down to only three white guys. The Pacers and Jazz boast twice as many. Though, to be fair, I always felt like Mark Madsen should count for double.


Rubio isn't the type that fits in Minnesota, though. Too cool. Hansbrough is more their style, obviously.

I'd hate this for two reasons: a) it would mean the end of Sebastian Telfair Era, and b) the Wolves don't have a hyper-athletic swingman who would look awesome throwing down Rubio lobs in transition.

Plus, you never know what type of facial hair Kevin Love could convince him to grow. Ew. Rubio in Minnesota would be gross. No thank you. 


If nothing else, Gay and Mayo could slam home those alley-oops. You know who else could? Goddamn Darius Miles. That's who.


We've seen the whole 'Spanish star in Memphis' thing flop before, though. More than anything, I just don't think it's a flashy enough team/city for Rubio. The man has a personality that cannot be bottled up. Need proof?

I love this video for two reasons. Go to the second question (:33 mark), and as watch Rubio nails Sacramento's roster with brutal singularity.

Q: "What are your thoughts on the Kings?"
A: "They are a good team. They are growing. They have a very good player, young player."

Yes, good player! One of them. Kevin Martin. And that's it.

Rubio's answer to the next question is just perfect.

Q: "How do you feel your game will translate to the NBA?"
A: "I love to run. I love to make assists to my teammates, and to make everybody happy."

Layoff, critics! Ricky Rubio just wants to make everybody happy! So what if he can't shoot? Is that really a crime?

Three more reasons why Rubio in Sac-town would be great.

a) California may be the only state cool enough to hold him.

b) The Sacramento fans are some of the best in the league. They need something to cheer about.

c) The "White Chocolate" parallels. Jason Williams was my guy growing up. Watching Rubio YouTube vids (why doesn't everyone call him Ricky YouTubeio, again?) made me remember the glory days of White Chocolate firing 360 behind-the-back passes to a cutting Lawrence Funderburke. What a time.

Watch first hand: White Chocolate highlights (with NOFX!), Rubio highlights (with 'Born to be Wild'. Seems fitting).

Now for the obvious No. 1...


A no-brainer. This would be the most exciting team in the league to watch, and easily the coolest team to play as in NBA 2k10. Yeah, it kind of sucks rewarding Clay Bennett, and, while I don't know much about it, I can only imagine Oklahoma City is super lame. But seeing Rubio play with Durant would be fun overload. This needs to happen.


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UPDATE

Arin isn't giving away a free jersey this time around, but he is running a live NBA Draft chat using the mythical beast known as Cover It Live. If you've been here when we used it before, you know it's always a good time. So if you're watching the draft from home tonight, be sure to go over there and check it out.