Rudy Gobert is a French basketball player who currently plays center for the Utah Jazz. He was born June 26, 1992, in Saint-Quentin, France. His father was a professional basketball player who played for the French National Team in the 1980s. Gobert began his pro basketball career in France in 2010. In 2013, the Denver Nuggets selected him 27th overall in the NBA Draft but traded him to the Utah Jazz.
Gobert was slow to develop early in his NBA career. However, he started to breakout as one of the NBA’s best centers during the 2016-17 season when he led the league in blocks and was named Second-Team All-NBA. Gobert was named Defensive Player of the Year in both 2018 and 2019 and made his first All-Star Team in 2020. However, in March of 2020, Gobert became the first NBA player to be diagnosed with coronavirus, a diagnosis that prompted the season to be suspended.
Rudy Gobert began playing basketball at age 11, eventually joining the Saint-Quentin BB club. In 2007, at age 15, he signed with Cholet Basketball, a pro club in France. Gobert made his first appearance with the club’s senior team during the 2010-11 season. During the 2011-12 season, he averaged 4.2 points and 3.6 rebounds over 29 games. The following year, he increased his productivity to 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
The Denver Nuggets selected Gobert 27th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. He was traded to the Utah Jazz on draft night. Gobert played just 45 games for the Jazz during his rookie season, spending part of the year in the G League with the Bakersfield Jam. During his second NBA season, Gobert played in all 82 of Utah’s games, including 37 starts, averaging 8.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. During the 2015-16 season, Gobert missed time because of an MCL sprain but started 60 of the 61 games he played in for Utah.
The 2016-17 season became Gobert’s breakout campaign after he signed a four-year, $102 million contract in October. He averaged 14 points and 12.8 rebounds per game while leading the NBA in blocks with 2.6 per game. After the season, he was named to the All-NBA Second-Team and All-Defensive First Team. Injuries limited him to 55 games the following season, although Gobert was still named NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He also won the award after the 2018-19 season.
During the 2019-20 season, Gobert was named an all-star for the first time in his career. On March 11, Gobert was hospitalized after feeling ill and diagnosed with coronavirus. His diagnosis prompted the NBA season to be suspended. Two days before the season was suspended, Gobert jokingly touched every microphone after giving a press conference, possibly spreading the virus. The joke gone wrong also created tension with teammate Donovan Mitchell, who also tested positive for coronavirus. At the time the season was suspended, Gobert was averaging 15.1 points and 13.7 rebounds per game.
Ahead of the 2019-20 season, Rudy Gobert had made $50.2 million in salary from his NBA career. Most of that money came after his four-year, $102 million extension kicked in during the 2017-18 season. He is set to be a free agent after the 2020-21 season.
Rudy Gobert signed a four-year, $5.3 million deal with the Utah Jazz in 2013.
Rudy Gobert signed a four-year, $102 million deal with the Utah Jazz in 2016.
Rudy Gobert was born in Saint-Quentin, France to parents Corinne Gobert and Rudy Bourgarel. He has two older siblings who have a different father. Gobert’s father played college basketball at Marist and played for the French National Team. He was raised primarily by his mother after his parents separated at a young age and his father moved to his native Guadeloupe. Gobert is not married and doesn’t have any children, as the details of his romantic history are largely unknown.
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