ESP - Rubio is Spain's future

MINNEAPOLIS (NBA/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - For over a decade, Spanish basketball has been making history. Having being crowned world champions in 2006, claimed two European titles and won silver medals at 2008 and 2012 Olympics, Spain is considered one of the most successful teams of all time.

One of the main reasons of La Roja's success is down to having players such as Los Angeles Lakers big man Pau Gasol and FC Barcelona star guard Juan Carlos Navarro, who teamed up to lead the youth side that took gold at the 1999 FIBA World Junior Championship for Men.

But time has flown by for this great generation and as their international careers near an end, Spain has to start making the transition to keep being competitive.

Minnesota Timberwolves playmaker Ricky Rubio is expected to be one of the pillars of the Spain's national side for years to come.

Selected with the fifth pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the former DKV Joventut Badalona product is having his best season, averaging 8.9 points, 8.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game.

Considered to be among the most talented European prospects in recent years, Rubio - who started his professional career at age 14 - has already won a few medals with the national team, including gold at 2009 and 2011 editions of EuroBasket and silver at the Beijing Games.

The talented point guard now wants to help Spain win another title at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup later this year (30 August-14 September).

FIBA.com caught up with Rubio to talk about how is season is going so far and the national team.

FIBA: How is your season going so far? What is your comfort level like now compared to your first two NBA seasons?
Rubio: My season is going well. I am happy to be part of the team and to have more responsibilities. During the first two seasons, I was still adjusting to the NBA. My knee injury also stopped my progression for a few months. I had to learn to be patient and now I feel healthy and comfortable in this league. My coach, Rick Adelman, has given me more responsibilities this season and I think that I am doing well. However, I am aware of my weaknesses that I need to work on, such as my shooting for example.

FIBA: The team is 10th in the Western Conference and can still reach a playoff spot.
Rubio: We had some ups and downs this season but we have been playing well for about a month as we won most of our games since the All-Star Break. Luck hasn't been on our side as we had to deal with a lot of injured players, however, aside from Ronny Turiaf, everyone is back and ready to help the team make it to the playoffs. We can reach the last spot and we are going to play every game left until the end of the regular season as if it were a final.

FIBA: You were part of Spain's national team that came in third at Eurobasket. Was it a disappointing result after having won the event in 2009 and 2011?
Rubio: It was disappointing as we wanted to win a third European championship in a row. We were only one game away from reaching the Final. The Semi-Final against France was an incredible game and we could have won this one, but Tony Parker and his teammates played at a highly-competitive level. We learned from that competition and we want to do better at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

FIBA: What will it be like to play in front of your fans?
Rubio: It will be exciting to play at home. The groups are very competitive and every team would like to beat us. There is still plenty of time left before the start of the competition, but I hope everybody is going to be healthy as we can have the most competitive team we can. I think that our group is the most difficult but we are not afraid of anyone and we dream of winning the title.

FIBA: What would it mean to you to play for the national team in this championship?
Rubio: I think every player would want to participate in a competition like the FIBA Basketball World Cup in his own country. I am focused on my NBA season for now, but I would like to be part of the team.

FIBA