Veteran Cleveland Cavaliers and Spain national team point guard Ricky Rubio is taking a pause from basketball to concentrate on his mental health, he announced Saturday.

¡°I have decided to stop my professional activity to take care of my mental health. I want to thank all the support I have received from the (Spanish national) team to understand my decision,¡± Rubio said in a statement issued by the Spanish Basketball Federation.

¡°Today #family makes more sense than ever. Thank you. I would ask that my privacy be respected so that I can face these moments and be able to give more information when the time is right.¡±

Rubio was scheduled to play for defending champion Spain at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup later this month. He left the team¡¯s training camp in Madrid earlier this week.

¡°We were informed today by Ricky and his representation that he has decided to step away from his illustrious basketball career to focus on his mental health at this time,¡± said Koby Altman, president of basketball operations for the Cavaliers.

¡°We understand how difficult of a decision this was for him and will balance providing whatever support we can while simultaneously respecting Ricky¡¯s request for privacy.¡±

Rubio, 32, has been in the public eye since he became a household name in Spain at 15, thanks to his flashy style of play.

The Timberwolves selected him with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2009 draft, but he played two more seasons in Spain before heading to the NBA. He has 698 career appearances (603 starts) with Minnesota (2011-17, 2020-21), Utah Jazz (2017-19), Phoenix Suns (2019-20) and Cleveland.

He has career averages of 10.8 points, 7.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds over 29.6 minutes per game.

In July 2022, Rubio signed a three-year, $18.44 million contract with $16.25 million in guarantees to stay with Cleveland.

But a torn ACL sustained in his first season in Cleveland limited him to 33 games (two starts) after rejoining the team in the middle of the team in the 2022-23 season. He averaged 5.2 points, 3.5 assists and 2.1 rebounds over 17.2 minutes per game.