Ricky Rubio received one of the warmest, most enthusiastic and emotional applause at the gala of the XXXIV Edition of the Gigantes Awards where the awards were presented to the most outstanding athletes of 2021. Held at the Beatriz Auditorium in Madrid, Ricky appeared in a video recorded at his own home in El Masnou, where he is still trying to shorten the recovery time of his serious ligament injury, alternating visits, treatment and check-ups with the medical team from New York that operated on him at the end of last year. The director of Gigantes magazine, David Sardinero, presented him in person with the award for the best player of the year 2021 in the men’s category, a distinction that thrilled the now Indiana Pacers player. Ricky recalled how he was impressed, as a child, by the covers of Gigantes magazine, especially who had been the best players of the month in the ACB and NBA. “Those were my idols,” he acknowledged, after recalling with great affection his first Gigantes cover after winning the Copa Catalunya with Joventut Badalona.

Ricky Rubio and Gigantes have maintained a long relationship over many years of reports, interviews and information following the career of a basketball player who has given his career a social, human, caring and sensitive to the problems of citizenship through The Ricky Rubio Foundation. For this reason, Gigantes recently dedicated a special issue to him to publicize the activities and dimension of this Ricky Rubio project, which is destined to become an institution with a great future in terms of positioning and social influence. Gigantes joined in the consolidation and effort of this Foundation, which has been able to take solid and growing steps throughout its more than three years of existence, by donating a percentage of the sales of that issue.  The magazine took special interest in publicizing the importance of the NBA Cares Community Asist award given to Ricky for his dedication and actions to improve the lives of children and families affected by cancer during the preseason summer Ricky spent in Cleveland prior to the start of the 2021-22 season.

At the Gigantes Awards gala, Raquel Carrera (Valencia Basket) was the Gigantes of the Year winner in the Women’s category along with an impressive list of national and international honorees and recognitions from the great Spanish basketball family.