Rubio is a rambler and a gambler playing D, too

Through his first 12 games, Rubio is eighth in the league in assists (8.3 per game) and tied for sixth in steals (2.0 per game), numbers that clearly make him the leader among rookies in each category.

Already, New Orleans coach Monty Williams suggests Rubio, once he fills out that scrawny body these next few years, could, because of his height and those arms, redefine a position at which he has been compared a time or two to the man who last redefined it, two-time league MVP Steve Nash.

"He defends better than Nash, better than most point guards coming into the league right away," Williams said. "I watch him on film and he has been surprising because I didn't think he was that good, I didn't think he'd be that good this early. He's going to fill into that body and he'll be able to guard some 2s [shooting guards], maybe even some 3s [small forwards]. He could very well change that position."

"He has exceeded a lot of people's expectations," said Washington and former Wolves coach Flip Saunders. "There were a lot of question marks coming over, and he has done a really, really, really good job. He's a good rookie, but he's not an All-Star yet."

At 21, Rubio is an NBA rookie who played his first Spanish pro game in 2005 and started in the Olympics three years later at age 17 -- "I don't consider him a rookie," Williams said -- but even his new coach didn't know what to expect on the defensive end.

"Everybody told me he had great hands," Adelman said. "What I really like about him is he's not afraid to challenge people, not afraid to get in there. That's half the battle. He's a lot more solid than we thought, very good at [defensive] rotations, very good at getting back and being in the right spot. Of all our guys, he has probably done that as well anybody.

"He has got a real basketball IQ. He really understands the game."