Zaza Pachulia
Encyclopedia
Zaza Pachulia is a Georgian
professional basketball
player for Galatasaray of the Turkish Basketball League
. He is also under contract with the Atlanta Hawks
of the NBA, but is playing overseas because of the 2011 NBA lockout
.
when he was a teenager. He became a member of the national basketball team of Georgia
at a young age and led his team as a center to beat other Eastern Europe
an rivals, such as Belarus
and Bulgaria
.
during the 2003 NBA Draft
. After being selected in the 2004 expansion draft by the Charlotte Bobcats
, Zaza 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. After he spent one season with the Bucks, the Atlanta Hawks
became interested in him.
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 officially re-signed with the Hawks on July 13, 2009, agreeing to a multi-year contract.
, Pachulia signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Basketball League
.
. He also holds Turkish
citizenship.
| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | Orlando
| 59 || 2 || 11.3 || .389 || .000 || .644 || 2.9 || .2 || .4 || .2 || 3.3
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" | Milwaukee
| 74 || 4 || 18.9 || .452 || .000 || .746 || 5.1 || .8 || .6 || .5 || 6.2
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 78 || 78 || 31.4 || .451 || .000 || .735 || 7.9 || 1.7 || 1.1 || .5 || 11.7
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 72 || 47 || 28.1 || .474 || .000 || .786 || 6.9 || 1.5 || 1.1 || .5 || 12.2
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 62 || 5 || 15.2 || .437 || .000 || .706 || 4.0 || .6 || .4 || .2 || 5.2
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 77 || 26 || 19.1 || .497 || .000 || .709 || 5.7 || .7 || .4 || .3 || 6.2
|-
| align="left" | 2009–10
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 78 || 1 || 14.0 || .488 || .000 || .650 || 3.8 || .5 || .5 || .4 || 4.3
|-
| align="left" | 2010–11
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 79 || 7 || 15.7 || .461 || .000 || .754 || 4.2 || .7 || .4 || .3 || 4.4
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 579 || 170 || 19.5 || .460 || .000 || .731 || 5.1 || .9 || .6 || .4 || 6.8
| align="left" | 2008
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 7 || 0 || 15.0 || .280 || .000 || .714 || 2.9 || .3 || .3 || .0 || 4.1
|-
| align="left" | 2009
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 11 || 1 || 23.6 || .415 || .000 || .762 || 6.9 || .3 || .4 || .3 || 6.9
|-
| align="left" | 2010
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 11 || 0 || 14.6 || .514 || .000 || .625 || 3.5 || .3 || .2 || .6 || 4.6
|-
| align="left" | 2011
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 11 || 0 || 17.7 || .478 || .000 || .773 || 4.9 || 1.2 || .2 || .1 || 3.5
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 40 || 1 || 18.0 || .426 || .000 || .725 || 4.9 || 4.7 || .3 || .3 || 4.9
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player for Galatasaray of the Turkish Basketball League
Turkish Basketball League
The Turkish Basketball League is the top men’s professional basketball league in Turkey, which is also called Turkish Premier Basketball League . There is also a Turkish Second Basketball League consisting of 2 divisions .-History:The first basketball game played in Turkey was at the Robert...
. He is also under contract with the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
of the NBA, but is playing overseas because of the 2011 NBA lockout
2011 NBA lockout
The 2011 NBA lockout is the fourth lockout in the history of the National Basketball Association . The owners began the work stoppage at 12:01 am EDT on July 1, 2011. The main issues dividing the owners and the players are revenue sharing and the structure of the salary cap...
.
Early athletic career
Pachulia was a very successful basketball player at a very early age in Georgia. He was approximately 6 feet 8 inches (2.04 meters) at the age of 13. He was scouted and recruited by the Turkish professional team ÜlkersporÜlkerspor
-History:Ülkerspor had been founded in 1975 but its basketball department was created in 1993 by buying a Turkish League spot from Nasaşspor. It won Turkish League titles in 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2006 with greats including Harun Erdenay, İbrahim Kutluay, Michael Anderson, Orhun Ene, Kevin Rankin and...
when he was a teenager. He became a member of the national basketball team of Georgia
Georgia national basketball team
The Georgian national basketball team represents the country of Georgia in international basketball competitions. Georgia's national team is currently playing in the European Championship A Division....
at a young age and led his team as a center to beat other Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an rivals, such as Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
.
National Basketball Association
Once he distinguished himself with Ülkerspor, Pachulia was drafted in the second round by the Orlando MagicOrlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
during the 2003 NBA Draft
2003 NBA Draft
The 2003 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2003 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from high schools and...
. After being selected in the 2004 expansion draft by the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
, Zaza was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
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. After he spent one season with the Bucks, the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
became interested in him.
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
Kevin Garnett
Kevin Maurice Garnett is an American professional basketball player who currently plays power forward for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association . After a high school basketball career at Farragut Career Academy which included winning a national player of the year award, he...
led one writer to dub Pachulia "Balboa" after the lead character from the Rocky
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
series of movies. Pachulia officially re-signed with the Hawks on July 13, 2009, agreeing to a multi-year contract.
Return to Turkey
During the 2011 NBA lockout2011 NBA lockout
The 2011 NBA lockout is the fourth lockout in the history of the National Basketball Association . The owners began the work stoppage at 12:01 am EDT on July 1, 2011. The main issues dividing the owners and the players are revenue sharing and the structure of the salary cap...
, Pachulia signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Basketball League
Turkish Basketball League
The Turkish Basketball League is the top men’s professional basketball league in Turkey, which is also called Turkish Premier Basketball League . There is also a Turkish Second Basketball League consisting of 2 divisions .-History:The first basketball game played in Turkey was at the Robert...
.
National team
Zaza Pachulia is a captain of the Georgia national basketball teamGeorgia national basketball team
The Georgian national basketball team represents the country of Georgia in international basketball competitions. Georgia's national team is currently playing in the European Championship A Division....
. He also holds Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
citizenship.
Regular season
|-| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | Orlando
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
| 59 || 2 || 11.3 || .389 || .000 || .644 || 2.9 || .2 || .4 || .2 || 3.3
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" | Milwaukee
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
| 74 || 4 || 18.9 || .452 || .000 || .746 || 5.1 || .8 || .6 || .5 || 6.2
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | Atlanta
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
| 78 || 78 || 31.4 || .451 || .000 || .735 || 7.9 || 1.7 || 1.1 || .5 || 11.7
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 72 || 47 || 28.1 || .474 || .000 || .786 || 6.9 || 1.5 || 1.1 || .5 || 12.2
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 62 || 5 || 15.2 || .437 || .000 || .706 || 4.0 || .6 || .4 || .2 || 5.2
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
2008–09 NBA season
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 77 || 26 || 19.1 || .497 || .000 || .709 || 5.7 || .7 || .4 || .3 || 6.2
|-
| align="left" | 2009–10
2009–10 NBA season
The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 78 || 1 || 14.0 || .488 || .000 || .650 || 3.8 || .5 || .5 || .4 || 4.3
|-
| align="left" | 2010–11
2010–11 NBA season
The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association . The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in six games, 4 games to 2, to win their first NBA title, and...
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 79 || 7 || 15.7 || .461 || .000 || .754 || 4.2 || .7 || .4 || .3 || 4.4
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 579 || 170 || 19.5 || .460 || .000 || .731 || 5.1 || .9 || .6 || .4 || 6.8
Playoffs
|-| align="left" | 2008
2008 NBA Playoffs
The 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....
| align="left" | Atlanta
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
| 7 || 0 || 15.0 || .280 || .000 || .714 || 2.9 || .3 || .3 || .0 || 4.1
|-
| align="left" | 2009
2009 NBA Playoffs
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 11 || 1 || 23.6 || .415 || .000 || .762 || 6.9 || .3 || .4 || .3 || 6.9
|-
| align="left" | 2010
2010 NBA Playoffs
The 2010 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2009–10 season. The playoffs started on April 17, 2010 with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 11 || 0 || 14.6 || .514 || .000 || .625 || 3.5 || .3 || .2 || .6 || 4.6
|-
| align="left" | 2011
2011 NBA Playoffs
The 2011 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2010–11 season. Eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, all seeded 1 to 8 in a tournament bracket, with all rounds in a best-of-seven format. The 2011 NBA Playoffs began on...
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 11 || 0 || 17.7 || .478 || .000 || .773 || 4.9 || 1.2 || .2 || .1 || 3.5
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 40 || 1 || 18.0 || .426 || .000 || .725 || 4.9 || 4.7 || .3 || .3 || 4.9