Rudy Gobert Biography Facts, Childhood & Personal Life

Rudy Gobert of Utah Jazz
Rudy Gobert (Center) of Utah Jazz. (Image: SLC Dunk)

Rudy Gobert is a professional basketball player from France who is known for his agility, intense tackles, defensive blocks and tactical shots. These are well complemented by his physical features such as body size and height, which are essential factors that favour the best basketball players, aside from hard work, talent and the zeal for the game. He is one of the top players that stands out in the NBA — more in our Rudy Gobert biography facts, childhood and personal life.

Rudy Gobert’s Biography Facts

Full Name:Rudy Gobert-Bourgarel
Nickname:The Stifle Tower; Gobzilla
Born:June 26, 1992 (age 29 years)
Place of Birth:Saint-Quentin, France
Nationality:French
Occupation:Basketball Player
League:NBA
Current Team:Utah Jazz
Position:Center
Playing Career:2010–date
Net Worth:$6 million
Height:7 ft 1 in
Shoe Size:20
Weight:255 lb (116 kg)
Education:Marist College
Parents:Rudy Bourgarel (father); Corinne Gobert (mother)
Siblings:N/A
Partner:N/A
Children:N/A
Zodiac Sign:Cancer

Rudy Gobert’s Childhood & Early Life

Childhood Photo of Rudy Gobert
Rudy Gobert during his childhood years. (Image: Twitter)

Gobert was born and raised in San-Quentin France to Rudy Bourgarel an ex-French basketball international and Corinne Gobert. As a boy, Gobert’s mother worked hard to fend for Gobert and his siblings. Gobert played for JSC St-Quentin before he went on to play for Saint-Quentin. Gobert also attended Cholet training centre where he developed his basketball skills.

Rudy Gobert’s Professional Career

Cholet Basket (2010–2013)

While at Cholet, Gobert featured primarily for Cholet Junior side. In the 2010/11 season, he managed to feature in just a game for Cholet senior side. The next season saw him feature regularly, appearing in 29 games where he registered 4.2 and 3.6 in points and rebounds per game respectively.

In his final season with Cholet, the 2012/13, Gobert increased his average to 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Rudy Gobert playing for Cholet Basket 2013
Rudy Gobert (#15) playing for Cholet Basket in 2013. (Image: Cholet Basket)

Utah Jazz (2013–date)

In the 2013/14 season, Gobert entered the 2013 NBA draft, at the NBA Draft Combine, Gobert set a record for wingspan, measuring 7 feet, 8.5 inches and standing reach, measuring 9 feet 7 inches. His impressive dimension which was surpassed a year later by Real Madrid basketball player Edy Tavares earned him the nickname ‘The Stifle Tower‘.

At the 2013 NBA draft, Gobert was picked as the Denver Nuggets 27th overall pick. He was, however, traded to the Utah Jazz on the draft night. Gobert signed his contract with the Utah Jazz and then went on to feature in the 2013 NBA summer league. Gobert featured in just 42 games out of the 82 games the Utah Jazz played in the 2013 NBA regular season.

Before the commencement of the 2014/13 regular season, Gobert played for the Utah Jazz in the 2014 NBA summer basketball league. The Utah Jazz went on to extend Goberts Rookie contract till the 2015/16 season. That season, in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Gobert registered a career-high of 24 rebounds, 3 shy of the Jazz record of 27 set by Truck Robinson. At the end of the 2015/16 season, Gobert had registered 25 double-doubles. In the Most Improved Player of the Year voting, Gobert ranked third. In October 2015, the Utah Jazz extended Gobert’s contract till the 2016/17 season. In December 2015, Gobert sustained a sprained left MCL, he was thus ruled out of action indefinitely.

Gobert returned to play on January 7, 2016, in a game against the Houston Rockets. Despite playing for just 15 minutes, he registered six points and three rebounds. In the 2016/17 season, Gobert signed a four-year contract worth $104 million with the Utah Jazz. The lucrative contract Gobert signed, made him the highest-paid french basketball star with regard to salary per year at that time. In a game against the Indiana Pacers, Gobert records his 31st double-doubles of the season registering 19 points and 11 rebounds, making it his 30th consecutive game with nothing less than 10 rebounds. Gobert helped the Utah Jazz as they progressed to the playoffs that season. In the Game 1 of the playoff against the Los Angeles Clippers, he went down with a bone bruise in his left knee, despite his injury, Gobert played on but was out of action for subsequent games. The Utah Jazz triumphed over the Los Angeles Clippers to set a playoff second-round battle with the Golden State Warriors which they lost. Gobert was named to the All-NBA Second-Team honours as well as NBA All-Defensive first team.

Gobert began his 2017/18 campaign on an impressive note with 8 double-doubles. He, however, sustain a bone bruise in his right knee on November 12, 2017. The injury kept him out of action for four weeks. Gobert missed 11 games as a result of his injury but went back to play on December 4. Not too long after his return, Gobert went down with another injury; sustaining a strained ligament in his left knee as well as a bone bruise. The injury kept him out of play for two weeks. After Gobert returned to action, he improved in his performance, recording his highest season point of 26 and 16 rebounds in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. His impressive performance, earned him a place in the 2018 NBA All-Defensive First Team, making him the third Utah Jazz player to earn NBA All-Defensive First Team honours. He also received the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He thus was the first Utah Jazz player to achieve the feat since Mark Eaton in 1989.

In the 2018/19 season, Gobert continued in his awesome form which saw him earn Western Conference Player of the Week honours in Mach 2019. At the end of the season, Gobert was named to the 2018/19 NBA All-Defensive First Team.

Rudy Gobert playing for Utah Jazz in 2019
Rudy Gobert #27 (Center) playing for the Utah Jazz in an NBA game against Spurs at Vivint Smart Home Arena—February 9, 2019. (Image: Steve Griffin via Deseret News)

National Team Career

Gobert has featured in games for the French National side since 2011, winning bronze for his side at the 2011 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship and silver at the 2012 FIBA Europe U-20 championship. At the 2014 FIBA basketball world cup, Gobert won bronze along with the French side. At the 2015 European Championships, Gobet played with the Fench National side achieving Bronze. He also featured in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.

Rudy Gobert of France in 2015
Rudy Gobert playing for France in 2015. (Image: Jan Fante via Wikimedia Commons)

Rudy Gobert’s Personal Life

Rudy Gobert’s personal life is not that known.

Rudy Gobert’s Highlights, Achievements & awards

  • All-NBA Second Team (2017)
  • All-NBA Third Team (2019)
  • NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2018, 2019)
  • NBA All-Defensive First Team (2017–2019)
  • NBA blocks leader (2017)

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