Amidst the rampant trade talk and injuries that ruled the Warriors' February, one player made the most of his increased opportunities to put on a show.

Gui Santos has been an end-of-the-bench player for most of his young career, coming in to finish off blowouts or getting extended run if a catastrophic number of players are injured. Having gotten his chance to play some more consistent minutes this year due to a multitude of reasons, Santos has now established himself as a trustworthy player for years to come.

Santos was set to be a free agent at the end of this season, with his rookie contract expiring this summer. With how well he's played, though, the Warriors front office saw it fit to not let him even explore the open market.

On Saturday, ahead of the Warriors' game against the Lakers, it was announced that the Warriors had signed Santos to a three-year, $15 million contract extension, including a player option in his third year. 

After the Lakers game, Santos reacted to this contract extension and gave his honest thoughts.

"There's a lot of things that comes to my mine when you see your work get rewarded. It was a lot of work, since I got here through the G-League, even before, playing in Brazil. All the resources that we have there is not much, and just to make it to the league is a big thing. But to even be able to get an extension in the best organization in the world — there's no words that can describe this feeling."

Santos also talked about how grateful he is, not just for the opportunity to play basketball for this money, but for what he can do with it.

"There's the basketball, to be a part of the Warriors, play with Steph and all that. But one thing that's really important for me is my family, and when you're sure that you're going to be able to help them for long, long, long years. It's just amazing. It's a great feeling, man."

Santos earned every bit of that contract extension with his torrid play over the past five weeks. Dating back to January 26th, the Warriors have played 13 games. Santos has played in all 13 games, starting 11 of them and scoring in double figures in all but one, where he still had 9 points against the Spurs.

It is, without a doubt, the best stretch of his career: in just under 29 minutes per game, he's averaging 15 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 58% from the field and over 41% from three-point range. It is truly absurd numbers for a player who averaged under 12 minutes and 4 points per game in his first two seasons in the NBA prior to this year.

In his 794 total minutes this season, Santos has an on/off net rating of +3.1, including being a staggering -4.4 on defense. With his three-point shot going down at an incredible mark and his cutting, playmaking, and overall offensive prowess improving rapidly, Santos is evolving into a truly formidable player capable of handling big minutes and being a very quality role player.

The Brazilian was the 55th overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft, but it's clear that he's now far surpassed the expectations he had coming into the league. Santos has firmly placed himself into the heart of the Warriors' core for years to come.