[3] His father, Janusz, was a Polish boxer and a bronze medalist in the light heavyweight class during the Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976 Olympics, and his mother, Alicja, was a representative of the Poland national team in volleyball.

He is also seen regularly at Speedway Grand Prix events, supporting his good friend, four-time World Champion Bartosz Zmarzlik.

[6] Gortat started his career with ŁKS Łódź, then played three seasons for RheinEnergie Cologne in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga, with whom he won the domestic championship in 2006 as well as the national cup three times.

[14] On December 15, 2008, starting in place of the injured Dwight Howard, Gortat played 28 minutes[15] and recorded 16 points and 13 rebounds in a 108–98 win over the Golden State Warriors.

[17] On December 18, 2010, Gortat was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Vince Carter, Mickaël Piétrus, a 2011 first-round draft pick (which would become Nikola Mirotić), and $3 million, in exchange for Jason Richardson, Earl Clark, and then-former Magic player and former teammate Hedo Türkoğlu.

During his first season with the Suns, his numbers increased as his minutes grew, initially coming off the bench, then starting at center in place of Robin Lopez.

Gortat also joined the likes of former Magic teammate Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, and DeMarcus Cousins as the only centers to average a double-double that season.

On October 25, 2013, Gortat was traded, along with Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee, and Kendall Marshall, to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Emeka Okafor and a 2014 protected first-round draft pick.

[20] On May 13, he recorded 31 points (his playoff career high) and 16 rebounds to help the Wizards avoid elimination in Game 5 of their second-round series with the Indiana Pacers.

The 9th edition of this event will celebrate Polish heritage when Washington hosts the San Antonio Spurs with another Pole, Jeremy Sochan on the roster on March 24, 2023.