Rudy Gobert

BIOGRAPHY

Rudy Gobert was born on June 26, 1992, in Saint-Quentin, France. He is a center in the NBA.

A native of Saint-Quentin in the Aisne, Rudy began playing basketball there in 2003 at the age of 11. He then joined the Cholet Basket training center in 2007. Faced with a late growth spurt which slows down his development during his early years, he already shows above average mental qualities, which have become one of his brands. factory.

During his Hope years at Cholet Basket, he began to enrich his record with a title of Champion of France Espoirs in 2010 and a Bronze medal at the European Championships in Basketball in 2011.

It was then the start of Rudy's professional career with Cholet Basket, where he played two full seasons between 2011 and 2013 before appearing for the NBA Draft, finishing in particular the best Pro A blocker in 2012-2013 (1, 7 blocks per game on average).

In June 2013, Rudy was selected in the first round of the NBA Draft in 27th position by the Denver Nuggets. It is immediately traded as part of a trade and joins the Utah Jazz. It is the founding act of the love relationship that today binds Rudy and Jazz, of which he has become the leader over the years. In constant progression, he first established himself as a dominant player defensively before evolving his attacking game to become a feared threat in the racket and assert himself as the second offensive option of the Jazz behind Donovan Mitchell.

He also represented the French national team in their international competitions. Standing at 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall with a wingspan of 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) long, he plays the center position. He is considered one of the NBA’s best rim protectors.

Gobert has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award three times, tied for second-most in NBA history. He is a four-time All-NBA Team member, five-time All-Defensive Team member, and two-time NBA All-Star. Gobert was also the NBA blocks leader in the 2016–17 season.

In 2019, Gobert broke the single-season record for dunks with 306. That year, Gobert also led the NBA in screen assists, with 482, effective field goal percentage, with 66.9 percent, and true shooting percentage, at 68.2 percent. He has been named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2017, and the All-NBA Third Team in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

On July 6, 2022, Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, and the draft rights to center Walker Kessler in addition to four first-round picks and a 2026 first-round pick swap.