SAN FRANCISCO– It's been a career year for Gui Santos, and the Golden State Warriors have rewarded him as such.

Santos and the Warriors agreed to a contract extension, the team announced Saturday morning– a three-year, $15-million deal with a player option for 2028-29, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. Santos was set to be a restricted free agent this summer but the Warriors signed him to a deal that benefits both sides.

With injuries and absences plaguing Golden State this season, Santos emerged as a key rotational piece in Steve Kerr's system. A 2022 second-round draft pick out of Brazil, the third-year forward worked his way from the Warriors' G-League affiliate in Santa Cruz to now a guy that Kerr and the Dubs trust to close with in tightly contested games.

Since Kerr entrenched him as a starter about a month ago, Santos has averaged 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 28.8 minutes across 12 games.

In that stretch, Santos has come up with two game-winning buckets– a fastbreak layup to take the lead against the Phoenix Suns and a chaotic layup in traffic at home against the Memphis Grizzlies.

“He’s taken another step this year, Gui has,” Kerr told reporters after the win in Memphis earlier this week. “Last year, he was a very important role player for us. Number one on the team in plus-minus and after the [Jimmy Butler] trade, he really solidified that role. But now, he’s become more on-ball as a creator [and] a post-up guy. The step-through move that you saw was incredible.

“He has the ability to play point guard when the other team is pressuring us. He’s really a versatile player and somebody we really value.”

Santos' journey to the NBA

For Santos, his journey to this point in his career has taken patience. After the team's practice Thursday afternoon, Santos reflected on what he had to do to become a guy capable of sticking around in the NBA.

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“I think the keyword for that is patience,” Santos said.

“Patience, because when I got here, I was a point guard playing back in Brazil. I was playing as a point guard, having the ball in my hand, and I spent the whole year in the G-League just learning how to fit in the system here, because my goal always was playing in the NBA, playing for the Warriors. And I asked [Kerr], what I got to do that. And he was like, all right, I'm gonna give you the way, like, you gotta play hard in defense. You've got to be crashing the boards all the time, and you just got to find Steph.”

Safe to say, Santos did all of those things, which is why Kerr felt comfortable increasing his minutes this season after not seeing much action in the two seasons prior.

But ultimately, what sticks out about Santos has been his unrelenting positivity and upbeat persona. Rarely will you find Santos without a big smile on his face, whether that's at the podium, at practice, or talking with teammates. It's why even now, he remains grateful for the opportunity and support the Warriors have given him.

“The coaches here, the staff, and the organization, they’re always nice for me,” Santos said. “They always help me with everything that I need, and right now they’re giving me the opportunity to show a little bit more because of all that happened.”