Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Ricky Rubio has been diagnosed with a season-ending ACL tear in his left knee, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
Rubio suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the team’s 108-104 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Dec. 28.
The 31-year-old also tore the same ACL back in 2012 and he now joins Jabari Parker and Michael Redd on the list of NBA players to tear the same ACL twice in their professional career, per injury analyst Jeff Stotts.
This is a major blow to the Cavaliers who have been the league’s most surprising team so far this season, as they are currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 20-14.
The Cavaliers have had a +16.1 net efficiency when Rubio and Darius Garland have shared the floor this season, which is the best of any two-man lineup to play 500 minutes together.
Without Rubio, Garland will be relied upon even more, as well as Isaac Okoro, while Kevin Pangos could also get more minutes in the rotation going forward.
Rubio finishes this season with averages of 13.1 points (tied for career-high), 4.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 34 games.
