Rudy Gobert

One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is Rudy Gobert: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you have a better example of his signature, or a story about it, the note at the foot of this page still stands.

Cholet's academy in France polished a raw 7-foot-1 teenager whose 7-foot-8-and-a-half-inch wingspan set a combine record, and the Jazz traded for him on draft night 2013 after Denver took him 27th overall. Over nine Utah seasons 'the Stifle Tower' became one of the most decorated defenders ever — three Defensive Player of the Year awards, with a record-tying fourth still to come in Minnesota, plus a blocks title, a rebounding title, and three All-Star nods. He also carries an unwanted distinction: the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19, the case that paused the 2019-20 season.

Son of a Guadeloupean father who played at Marist, Gobert grew up in Saint-Quentin making regular trips to the Caribbean. Traded to Minnesota in 2022, he still anchors France's national team.

HOW HE CAME & WENTDenver took him 27th overall in 2013 and traded his rights to Utah. Nine seasons, three Defensive Player of the Year awards and a $205 million extension later — with the team stuck short of the conference finals and the Gobert-Mitchell relationship strained — Danny Ainge traded him to Minnesota on July 6, 2022 for four first-round picks and five players.

Full name

Rudy Gobert-Bourgarel

Utah Jazz tenure

2013–22

Position

Center

Born

1992, Saint-Quentin, France

Height

7′1″ (216 cm)

Weight

258 lb (117 kg)

Drafted

2013, 1st round (No. 27), Denver