Gobert was born in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, in the north of France. He is the son of Corinne Gobert, and Rudy Bourgarel, a former professional basketball player from Guadeloupe who played for the French national team in the 1980s. Prior to his professional career, Bourgarel had attended Marist College in New York. Raised in his native town, Gobert started playing basketball in 2003 for the JSC St-Quentin club, before later joining the Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball club. In 2007, he joined the Cholet training center and in 2010, he participated in the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for the French junior national team where he finished as the team\'s best scorer and rebounder.\n', '

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 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.\n', '

Gobert declared for the 2013 NBA draft and set NBA Draft Combine records for wingspan (7 feet 8½ 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.\n', '

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