Zaza Pachulia
Quick Facts
Biography
Zaza Pachulia (Georgian: ზაზა ფაჩულია; February 10, 1984) is a Georgian professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born as Zaur Pachulia, but his first name was legally changed to Zaza.
While he holds Turkish citizenship, Pachulia plays internationally for Georgia, captaining his national team in multiple tournaments.
Professional career
Early years
Pachulia was a very successful basketball player at a very 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.
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. While with the Bucks, Pachulia averaged 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game off the bench.
Pachulia signed a contract with the Atlanta Hawks 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. Pachulia re-signed with the Hawks on July 13, 2009, agreeing to a multi-year contract.
During the 2011 NBA lockout, Pachulia signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Basketball League. He later returned to the Hawks in December 2011.
On July 17, 2013, Pachulia signed with the Milwaukee Bucks. 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.
On July 9, 2015, Pachulia was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a future second-round pick. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
On July 12, 2016, Pachulia signed with the Golden State Warriors. 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.
Personal life
Pachulia 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.
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 |
NBA
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003–04 | Orlando | 59 | 2 | 11.3 | .389 | .000 | .644 | 2.9 | .2 | .4 | .2 | 3.3 |
2004–05 | Milwaukee | 74 | 4 | 18.9 | .452 | .000 | .746 | 5.1 | .8 | .6 | .5 | 6.2 |
2005–06 | Atlanta | 78 | 78 | 31.4 | .451 | .000 | .735 | 7.9 | 1.7 | 1.1 | .5 | 11.7 |
2006–07 | Atlanta | 72 | 47 | 28.1 | .474 | .000 | .786 | 6.9 | 1.5 | 1.1 | .5 | 12.2 |
2007–08 | Atlanta | 62 | 5 | 15.2 | .437 | .000 | .706 | 4.0 | .6 | .4 | .2 | 5.2 |
2008–09 | Atlanta | 77 | 26 | 19.1 | .497 | .000 | .709 | 5.7 | .7 | .5 | .3 | 6.2 |
2009–10 | Atlanta | 78 | 1 | 14.0 | .488 | .000 | .650 | 3.8 | .5 | .5 | .4 | 4.3 |
2010–11 | Atlanta | 79 | 7 | 15.7 | .461 | .000 | .754 | 4.2 | .7 | .4 | .3 | 4.4 |
2011–12 | Atlanta | 58 | 44 | 28.3 | .499 | .000 | .741 | 7.9 | 1.4 | .9 | .5 | 7.8 |
2012–13 | Atlanta | 52 | 15 | 21.8 | .473 | .000 | .757 | 6.5 | 1.5 | .7 | .2 | 5.9 |
2013–14 | Milwaukee | 53 | 43 | 25.0 | .427 | .000 | .846 | 6.3 | 2.6 | .8 | .3 | 7.7 |
2014–15 | Milwaukee | 73 | 45 | 23.7 | .454 | .000 | .788 | 6.8 | 2.4 | 1.1 | .3 | 8.3 |
2015–16 | Dallas | 76 | 69 | 26.4 | .454 | .000 | .768 | 9.4 | 1.7 | .8 | .3 | 8.6 |
Career | 891 | 386 | 21.5 | .461 | .000 | .746 | 6.0 | 1.2 | .7 | .4 | 7.1 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Atlanta | 7 | 0 | 15.0 | .280 | .000 | .714 | 2.9 | .3 | .3 | .0 | 4.1 |
2009 | Atlanta | 11 | 1 | 23.6 | .415 | .000 | .762 | 6.9 | .3 | .5 | .3 | 6.9 |
2010 | Atlanta | 11 | 0 | 14.6 | .514 | .000 | .625 | 3.5 | .3 | .2 | .6 | 4.6 |
2011 | Atlanta | 11 | 0 | 17.7 | .478 | .000 | .773 | 4.9 | 1.2 | .2 | .1 | 3.5 |
2015 | Milwaukee | 6 | 6 | 21.5 | .400 | .000 | .615 | 6.7 | 1.5 | 1.7 | .5 | 6.7 |
2016 | Dallas | 5 | 4 | 22.4 | .375 | .000 | .882 | 5.4 | 3.2 | .6 | .2 | 6.6 |
Career | 51 | 11 | 18.8 | .415 | .000 | .734 | 5.0 | .9 | .5 | .3 | 5.3 |
EuroLeague
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001–02 | Ülkerspor | 13 | 1 | 7.4 | .536 | .000 | .733 | 1.8 | .2 | .3 | .1 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
2002–03 | Ülkerspor | 14 | 2 | 10.4 | .467 | .000 | .625 | 2.9 | .3 | .5 | .5 | 4.4 | 4.8 |
2011–12 | Galatasaray | 4 | 2 | 15.1 | .389 | .000 | .600 | 4.5 | .5 | .5 | .5 | 6.5 | 6.8 |
Career | 31 | 5 | 10.0 | .473 | .000 | .642 | 2.6 | .3 | .4 | .1 | 4.2 | 4.6 |