Zaza Pachulia is a National Basketball Association (NBA) player who has notably played for teams such as the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, and the Golden State Warriors.
The 6ft 11in Turkish citizenship holder, a native of Georgia who plays domestically, won an NBA title in 2017 that led to him being awarded the Order of Honor by his home country’s President, Giorgi Margvelashvili.
Biography (Age)
Pachulia was born in Marina and Zaur PachuliaDavid Pachulia in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, in the Soviet Union on February 10, 1984. He got to know the game of basketball at a very early age, since he could hardly play other sports with his peers.
At the age of thirteen, Pachulia was reported to be about six feet eight inches tall. His size caught the attention of many local and foreign basketball teams, all of whom wanted to offer him an opportunity to play for them. At fifteen Pachulia changed his first name from Zaur to Zaza and moved to Turkey to play for the Turkish professional basketball team Ülkerspor, who had scouted him extensively. By now he was already a member of Georgian junior basketball and had led them to various tournaments.
Zaza Pachulia spent four years in Turkey and played a total of 73 matches. During that time he averaged 6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and won the 2001 Turkish National Championship, 2001, 2002 and 2003 Turkish Presidential Cup and 2003 Turkish Cup.
At the end of that season he settled on the Atlanta Hawks where he would get an opportunity to play as a starter. His stats improved dramatically as he averaged 11.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in 78 games. His offensive rebounds in particular made him a force to be reckoned with as he ranked third in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game.
Zaza Pachulia played with the Hawks from 2005-2013, totaling 556 regular season games and 40 offseason games as the Hawks made the playoffs in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Between his stint with the Hawks during the 2011 NBA lockout, Pachulia returned to Turkey, playing for Galatasaray in the Turkish Basketball League, but returned to the Hawks after the suspension ended.
After the conclusion of the 2012-13 season was brought up to Milwaukee to play for the Dollars. During his two years there, he set a Bucks franchise record 18 offensive rebounds in a game against the Brooklyn Nets.
In 2015, the Bucks sent him to Dallas in a trade for a future draft pick. Pachulia found personal success with the Mavericks, surpassing his previous double-double total in one season. He also made his first All-Star appearance at the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.
From Dallas, Zaza moved to the Golden StateWarriors in July 2016. During that campaign, he was dubbed “Zaza Per Cheat Shot” by NBA analyst Skip Bayless for injuring San Antonio Spurs player Kawhi Leonard they won.
By this point, Pachulia had been classified as a dirty player and a villain in the league. He didn’t do his reputation any favors by intentionally falling on Oklahoma City Thunder player Russell Westbrook’s knee to injure him.
Zaza Pachulia Salary and Net Worth
Zaza Pachulia is currently on a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Golden State Warriors. However, he is said to have a net worth of around $13 million thanks to the salaries and endorsements he has received throughout his years in the NBA.
Besides his salaries, Pachulia is an entrepreneur and investor in a number of startups.
Wife
Zaza Pachulia has been married to his wife Tika since 2008. Together the couple has two sons and a daughter. They are Davit Pachulia, Saba Pachulia and Mariam Pachulia.
Height, weight, other facts
Birth Name : Zaza Pachulia
Date of Birth: February 10, 1984
Place of birth: Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality: Georgian
Height: 6 feet 11 inches (211 cm)
Weight: 122kg
Birth sign: Aquarius
Shoe size: 17 US