Ricky Rubio is Back and it's Beautiful

We talk a lot about winning and losing-well, mostly losing-as Timberwolves fans. That matters; losing is a difficult grind when it comes at you night after night, year after year.

But just as important as wins and losses is joy and beauty, something that's easy to forget when it's in relatively short supply. But Ricky Rubio is perhaps the league's foremost purveyor of those qualities, and we are lucky enough to have him on our team.

Even last night, on short minutes with three months of rust to shake off, he played with a zest that was both joyous and infectious, and it reminded me why I care so much, and more than that reminded me how to take pleasure in the moment despite the results.

The things he does--successful or not, bring an aesthetic to the court that not only has been sorely missing but is unique in the vision and imagination that brings it to life.

As the Mavs announcer says at the end of this clip, "God that's beautiful."

And it is.

This is what Ricky Rubio brings to the basketball court, win or lose, succeed or fail, and it's something to be treasured. We went three months without it, and one night reminds us that joy can come in a well-executed pick and roll and a transition ally-oop to a 19 year old pogo-stick. It can come-and often does--with a bounce pass that nobody else could imagine, never mind execute, and with an anticipatory defensive rotation that wins a possession.

Ricky Rubio is not the best player in the NBA; he isn't close. But when it comes to creating moments of pure aesthetic expressions of the game, he has few peers.

I know that there are mixed feelings about the rest of this season: some of us would like to see the team begin to win some games and establish a foothold and mentality for next season, while others would prefer to maximize opportunity in the draft lottery. Either way, however, we should all come together as a community of fans, at least for two-and-a-half hours on game nights, to embrace and take pleasure in the beauty our point guard creates on the court.

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