Zaza Pachulia

Zaza Pachulia (Georgian: ზაზა ფაჩულია; [zɑzɑ pɑtʃʰuliɑ] born Zaur Pachulia; February 10, 1984)[1] is a Georgian-Turkish professional basketball executive and former player who is a basketball operations consultant for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won two NBA championships with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018. He has played for the Georgia national team, captaining them in multiple tournaments.[2]

Zaza Pachulia
Pachulia with the Warriors in 2017
Personal information
Born (1984-02-10) February 10, 1984
Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityGeorgian / Turkish
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight270 lb (122 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2003 / Round: 2 / Pick: 42nd overall
Selected by the Orlando Magic
Playing career1999–2019
PositionCenter
Number27
Career history
1999–2003Ülkerspor
2003–2004Orlando Magic
2004–2005Milwaukee Bucks
2005–2013Atlanta Hawks
2011Galatasaray
2013–2015Milwaukee Bucks
2015–2016Dallas Mavericks
2016–2018Golden State Warriors
2018–2019Detroit Pistons
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Professional career

Early years

Pachulia started playing basketball at an early age in Georgia. He was approximately 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 meters) at the age of 13. He was scouted and recruited by the Turkish professional team Ülkerspor when he was a teenager. He became a member of the Georgian junior national basketball team at a young age, leading them at various tournaments.[3]

NBA

Once he distinguished himself with Ülkerspor, Pachulia was drafted in the second round by the Orlando Magic during the 2003 NBA draft. After being selected in the 2004 expansion draft by the Charlotte Bobcats, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks where he played the 2004–05 season.[4] While with the Bucks, Pachulia averaged 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game off the bench.

Pachulia with the Atlanta Hawks in May 2008

Pachulia signed a contract with the Atlanta Hawks[5] in the 2005 off-season and became the Hawks' starting center, when he averaged 11.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game during the 2005–06 season. He began as the starting center during the 2006–07 season but later came off the bench. An on-court altercation between the relatively obscure Pachulia and Celtics star Kevin Garnett led one writer to dub Pachulia "Balboa" after the lead character from the Rocky series of movies.[6] Pachulia re-signed with the Hawks on July 13, 2009, agreeing to a multi-year contract.[7]

During the 2011 NBA lockout, Pachulia signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Basketball League.[8] He later returned to the Hawks in December 2011.

On July 17, 2013, Pachulia signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.[9] On March 20, 2015, he recorded 22 points and 21 rebounds in a 129–127 overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets. His 21 rebounds included 18 offensive rebounds, which marked an NBA season high and a Bucks franchise record.[10]

On July 9, 2015, Pachulia was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a future second-round pick.[11] He made his debut for the Mavericks in the team's season opener against the Phoenix Suns on October 28, recording a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a 111–95 win.[12] On December 26, he recorded his 16th double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls, surpassing his 2014–15 season total.[13] On January 12, 2016, he recorded his 20th double-double of the season, and the 100th in his career, with 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 110–107 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.[14] Later that month, he came within 14,227 votes of knocking out San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard for a starting spot on the West All-Star team for the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.[15] On February 3, 2016, he recorded 10 points and 15 rebounds against the Miami Heat for his career-best 22nd double-double of the season. His previous best was 21 double-doubles, set with Atlanta in 2005–06.[16]

On July 12, 2016, Pachulia signed with the Golden State Warriors.[17] On December 22, 2016, he had a season-best game with 15 points and 14 rebounds in a 117–101 win over the Brooklyn Nets.[18] Pachulia helped the Warriors finish the 2016–17 regular season with 67 wins. During Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Spurs, he had an infamous closeout foot slide on Kawhi Leonard,[19] which ruled out Leonard for the rest of the series and effectively ended San Antonio's season.[20] While Pachulia denied that he intended to injure Leonard, he was instantly dubbed a villain by the public and media.[21] The Warriors went on to win the 2017 NBA Championship after defeating the Cavaliers 4–1 in the NBA Finals. Pachulia made history for Georgia by becoming the first player from the country to win an NBA Championship.[22] The Warriors finished the playoffs with a 16–1 record, the best postseason winning percentage in NBA history.[23]

On July 25, 2017, Pachulia re-signed with the Warriors.[24] On December 30, 2017, he scored a season-best 17 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists in a 141–128 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.[25]

In a game against the Thunder on February 25, 2018, Pachulia again caused controversy as he fell onto Russell Westbrook's knee after a play. Westbrook stated in an interview after the game that he believed Pachulia's fall was intentional with the intent of injuring his knee.[26] Teammate Kevin Durant later defended Pachulia stating that he had gotten his feet tangled up with Nick Young in the incident,[27] but Pachulia was criticized by many players, coaches and pundits such as Paul George,[26] Kyrie Irving,[28] Gregg Popovich,[29] describing the incident as yet another in a long list of controversial dirty plays in Pachulia's career. The NBA officially stated that they would not discipline Pachulia over the incident.[30] In June 2018, Pachulia won his second straight championship as a member of the Warriors, after they defeated the Cavaliers in a four-game sweep in the Finals.

On July 15, 2018, Pachulia signed with the Detroit Pistons.[31]

On August 29, 2019, Pachulia retired from playing and re-joined the Warriors' as a front office consultant in their basketball operations department.[32][33]

Personal life

Pachulia legally changed his first name from Zaur to Zaza.[1] He and his wife, Tika, have two sons, Davit and Saba, and a daughter, Mariam. Beginning in 2004, Pachulia hosted annual free summer basketball camps for children in different locations throughout Georgia until 2016 when he established a basketball academy in his native Tbilisi.[34]

In 2017, Pachulia received the Order of Honor from Republic of Georgia president Giorgi Margvelashvili.[35] He also holds Turkish citizenship.[2]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

NBA

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003–04 Orlando 59211.3.389-.6442.9.2.4.23.3
2004–05 Milwaukee 74418.9.452.000.7465.1.8.6.56.2
2005–06 Atlanta 787831.4.451.000.7357.91.71.1.511.7
2006–07 Atlanta 724728.1.474.000.7866.91.51.1.512.2
2007–08 Atlanta 62515.2.437.000.7064.0.6.4.25.2
2008–09 Atlanta 772619.1.497.000.7095.7.7.5.36.2
2009–10 Atlanta 78114.0.488.000.6503.8.5.5.44.3
2010–11 Atlanta 79715.7.461-.7544.2.7.4.34.4
2011–12 Atlanta 584428.3.499-.7417.91.4.9.57.8
2012–13 Atlanta 521521.8.473.000.7576.51.5.7.25.9
2013–14 Milwaukee 534325.0.427.000.8466.32.6.8.37.7
2014–15 Milwaukee 734523.7.454.000.7886.82.41.1.38.3
2015–16 Dallas 766926.4.454.000.7689.41.7.8.38.6
2016–17† Golden State 707018.1.534.000.7785.91.9.8.56.1
2017–18† Golden State 695714.1.564.000.8064.71.6.6.25.4
2018–19 Detroit 68312.9.440.000.7823.91.3.5.33.9
Career 1,09851620.3.469.000.7515.81.3.7.36.8

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008 Atlanta 7015.0.280.000.7142.9.3.3.04.1
2009 Atlanta 11123.6.415-.7626.9.3.5.36.9
2010 Atlanta 11014.6.514-.6253.5.3.2.64.6
2011 Atlanta 11017.7.478-.7734.91.2.2.13.5
2015 Milwaukee 6621.5.400-.6156.71.51.7.56.7
2016 Dallas 5422.4.375-.8825.43.2.6.26.6
2017† Golden State 151514.1.533.000.7653.8.8.5.35.1
2018† Golden State 703.7.571-.7501.7.1.4.12.4
Career 732616.4.446.000.7384.4.8.5.35.0

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2001–02 Ülkerspor 1317.4.536.000.7331.8.2.3.13.23.7
2002–03 Ülkerspor 14210.4.467.000.6252.9.3.5.54.44.8
2011–12 Galatasaray 4215.1.389.000.6004.5.5.5.56.56.8
Career 31510.0.473.000.6422.6.3.4.14.24.6

National team

Source[36]

Year Competition GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003 EuroBasket qualification Preliminary Round 523.4.511.000.7506.81.02.0.012.6
2003 EuroBasket qualification Qualifying Round 527.6.468.250.57610.8.02.4.615.6
2005 EuroBasket 2005 Division B 631.3.595.000.76013.01.81.81.021.0
2007 EuroBasket 2007 Division B 832.8.452.000.7228.91.91.31.919.9
2009 EuroBasket 2009 Division B 1029.4.508.000.6718.51.61.21.417.9
2011 EuroBasket 2011 qualification 828.6.476.000.6767.51.8.9.515.8
2011 EuroBasket 2011 525.8.472.000.8574.4.61.0.613.6
2013 EuroBasket 2013 qualification 529.6.574.000.6577.61.0.8.218.6
2015 EuroBasket 2015 qualification 632.5.466.000.7257.83.31.5.717.5
2015 EuroBasket 2015 626.7.474.000.8446.33.01.0.313.5
2017 EuroBasket 2017 qualification 626.2.475.000.9217.74.31.2.515.2
2017 EuroBasket 2017 526.1.447.000.7589.21.6.8.213.4
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gollark: Impressive, my two nodes appear to be deadlocked even though one wants to write and the other wants to read, which is entirely consistent.
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See also

References
  1. "Zaza Pachulia" (PDF). Milwaukee Bucks. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  2. "Atlanta Hawks: If NBA lockout lingers, Zaza Pachulia may play in Turkey". Archived from the original on 2011-09-10.
  3. "10 things to know about Mavs center Zaza Pachulia, including his fashion sense, fights with other NBA players". SportsDay. Dallas News. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  4. Bobcats Acquire Draft Picks In Two Trades Archived 2010-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Hawks Sign Zaza Pachulia, Aug. 11, 2005; article retrieved March 21, 2007
  6. HAWKS: Everything You Need To Know About...Hawks vs Celtics | Game 6 | May 2, 2008. Nba.com. Retrieved on 2017-07-15.
  7. "HAWKS SIGN MIKE BIBBY, ZAZA PACHULIA". NBA.com. 2009-07-13. Retrieved 2011-04-24.
  8. Galatasaray brings in Zaza Pachulia. Euroleague.net (2011-10-07). Retrieved on 2017-07-15.
  9. Bucks Sign Free Agent Center Zaza Pachulia. Nba.com (2013-07-17). Retrieved on 2017-07-15.
  10. Lopez, Nets pull out 3-overtime victory over slumping Bucks. Nba.com. Retrieved on 2017-07-15.
  11. "Mavericks Acquire center Zaza Pachulia from Bucks". NBA.com. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  12. "8 Dallas players reach double figures, Mavs rout Suns 111–95". NBA.com. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  13. "Barea hits career-high 7 3s, Mavericks top Bulls 118–111". NBA.com. December 26, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  14. "LeBron has 27, Cavs win 8th in row, 110–107 over Mavs in OT". NBA.com. January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  15. Duffy, Thomas (January 21, 2016). "Mavs C Zaza Pachulia Was 14K Votes Away from Being All-Star Starter". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  16. "Wade's bounce-back, Bosh's 20 lead Heat over Mavericks 93–90". NBA.com. February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  17. "Warriors Sign Free Agent Center Zaza Pachulia". NBA.com. July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  18. "Zaza Pachulia 2016–17 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  19. Malinowski, Erin (May 16, 2017). "Kawhi Leonard's Injury Is a Shame, but Was Zaza Pachulia's Play Really Dirty?". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  20. Bushnell, Henry (September 22, 2017). "The NBA is cracking down on dangerous Zaza-esque closeouts". Yahoo.com. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  21. Bushnell, Henry (May 21, 2017). "Warriors' Zaza Pachulia, family threatened after Kawhi Leonard incident". USAToday.com. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  22. "Zaza Pachulia becomes Georgia's first NBA champion". agenda.ge. June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  23. "Warriors (16–1) Record Best Postseason Winning Percentage in NBA History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2017-06-18.
  24. "Warriors Re-Sign Curry, Durant, Iguodala, Livingston, Pachulia and West to Contracts". NBA.com. July 25, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  25. "Curry makes season-best 10 3-pointers in return from injury". ESPN.com. December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  26. "Russell Westbrook, Paul George call out Zaza Pachulia after dangerous fall". NBA.com. February 25, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  27. Polacek, Scott (February 25, 2018). "Kevin Durant Defends Zaza Pachulia After Fall on Russell Westbrook: He's Clumsy". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  28. Carbaugh, Dane (March 2, 2018). "Kyrie Irving calls Zaza Pachulia's fall on Russell Westbrook "unacceptable"". NBC Sports. Yahoo Sports. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  29. Rapp, Timmothy (February 25, 2018). "Zaza Pachulia Says Russell Westbrook Calling Him a Dirty Player Is 'Childish'". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  30. Carroll, Charlotte (February 26, 2018). "Zaza Pachulia Says Russell Westbrook Calling Him a Dirty Player Is 'Childish'". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  31. "Detroit Pistons sign free agent Zaza Pachulia". NBA.com. July 15, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  32. Kent, Austin (August 29, 2019). "ZAZA PACHULIA RETIRES, JOINS WARRIORS AS CONSULTANT". Slamonline.com. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  33. "Warriors Announce Basketball Operations Promotions and Additions". NBA.com. August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  34. Zwerling, Jared (27 May 2016). "Inside Zaza Pachulia's New Sports Academy—with the Bucks Court on Its Way to Europe". National Basketball Players Association. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  35. "Warriors Center Zaza Pachulia to Receive Order of Honor from Republic of Georgia". NBA.com. August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  36. "Zaza Pachulia - EuroBasket (2015) - FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
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