Rudy Gobert

His 24 rebounds were three short of the Jazz franchise record of 27 set twice by Truck Robinson, both in the 1977–78 season.

His father, Rudy Bourgarel, is from Guadeloupe and played college basketball in the United States for the Marist Red Foxes from 1985 to 1988.

Bourgarel played professional basketball in Paris and Saint-Quentin, where he met Gobert's mother.

Gobert's parents split when he was around three years old; he stayed with his mother in Saint-Quentin and made regular trips to Guadeloupe for his father.

Rudy Gobert-Bourgarel (born June 26, 1992) is a French professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Gobert started playing basketball in 2003 for the JSC St-Quentin club, before later joining the Saint-Quentin BB club.

In 2007, he joined Cholet Basket's cadet categories training center and in 2010, he participated in the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship with the French under-18 national team, where he finished as the team's best scorer and rebounder.

From 2009 to 2011, Gobert mostly played for the Cholet Basket junior team, managing just one game for the senior team in 2010–11, recording 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block in 13 minutes on May 10, 2011, against Pau-Lacq-Orthez.

In 2011–12, he averaged 4.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 29 games for Cholet.

During the next season in 2012–13, he averaged 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in 27 games.

In just his 12th game for the Jazz on November 24, Gobert scored a season-high 10 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

On December 14, he was assigned to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League.

Gobert was a starter in all eight of his games in the Development League, scoring a double-double in six of those games.

He was later recalled by the Jazz on December 21, reassigned on January 4, and recalled again on January 13.

He previously played for the Utah Jazz who acquired him during the 2013 NBA draft.

Gobert also represents the French national team in their international competitions.

Standing at 7ft 1in tall with a wingspan of 7ft 9in long, he plays the center position.

Gobert has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award three times, tied for third-most in NBA history.

He is a four-time All-NBA Team member, six-time All-Defensive First Team member, and three-time NBA All-Star.

Gobert declared for the 2013 NBA draft and set NBA Draft Combine records for wingspan (7 feet 8 1⁄2 inches) and standing reach (9 feet 7 inches) in the 2013 combine.

These dimensions earned him the nickname "The Stifle Tower".

The record for wingspan was broken a year later by Walter Tavares.

On June 27, 2013, Gobert was selected with the 27th overall pick by the Denver Nuggets.

He was later traded on draft night to the Utah Jazz.

On July 6, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Jazz and joined them for the 2013 NBA Summer League.

He played sparingly for the Jazz in 2013–14, making an appearance in 45 of the team's 82 regular season games.

In July 2014, Gobert re-joined the Jazz for the 2014 NBA Summer League.

On October 24, 2014, the Jazz exercised their third-year team option on Gobert's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2015–16 season.

On January 9, 2015, he recorded a career-high seven blocked shots in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

On March 3, he recorded 15 points and a career-high 24 rebounds in a 93–82 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

In April 2015, he twice scored a career-high 20 points, and finished the 2014–15 season with 25 double-doubles.

He went on to finish third in the NBA Most Improved Player Award voting.

On October 17, 2015, the Jazz exercised their fourth-year team option on Gobert's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season.

On December 2, 2015, he was ruled out indefinitely after sustaining a sprained left MCL.

Gobert was also the NBA blocks leader in the 2016–17 season and the NBA rebounding leader in the 2021–22 season.

He returned to action on January 7, 2016, against the Houston Rockets after missing 18 games with the injury.

Gobert was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2017, and the All-NBA Third Team in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

After teammates of Gobert's on the Utah Jazz, including Donovan Mitchell, also tested positive, the NBA postponed the 2019–20 season until its resumption on July 30 of the same year.

Gobert was born in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, in the north of France.

In March 2020, Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first NBA player with a confirmed case of the virus.