Zaza Pachulia

Zaza Pachulia

Pachulia with the Hawks in 2008
No. 27 – Atlanta Hawks
Center / Power forward
Personal information
Born	(1984-02-10) February 10, 1984 Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR
Nationality	Georgian / Turkish
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	275 lb (125 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	2003 / Round: 2 / Pick: 42nd overall
Selected by the Orlando Magic
Pro career	1999–present
League	NBA
Career history
1999–2003	Ülkerspor (Turkey)
2003–2004	Orlando Magic
2004–2005	Milwaukee Bucks
2005–present	Atlanta Hawks
2011	Galatasaray (Turkey)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Zaza Pachulia (Georgian: ზაზა ფაჩულია; born Zaur Pachulia February 10, 1984), is a Georgian professional basketball player who currently plays for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA.

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 Ülkerspor 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 European rivals, such as Belarus and Bulgaria.

National Basketball Association

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, 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.

Return to Turkey

During the 2011 NBA lockout, Pachulia signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Basketball League.

National team

Zaza Pachulia is a captain of the Georgia national basketball team. He also holds Turkish citizenship.

NBA 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

Regular season

Correct as of March 3, 2013

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	.4	.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	1.0	.5	7.8
2012–13	Atlanta	52	15	21.8	.473	.000	.757	6.5	1.5	.7	.2	5.9
Career		689	229	20.4	.465	.000	.733	5.5	1.0	.6	.4	6.8

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	.4	.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
Career		40	1	18.0	.426	.000	.725	4.9	4.7	.3	.3	4.9

External links

• Zaza Pachulia's Official Website
• NBA.com Profile - Zaza Pachulia
• Euroleague.net Profile
• Career statistics at Basketball-reference.com