Background
He was born as Zaur Pachulia, but his first name was legally changed to Zaza.
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. Early years
Pachulia was a very successful basketball player at a very early age in Georgia. He was approximately 6 feet 8 inches (203 meters) at the age of 13.
He was scouted and recruited by the Turkish professional team Ülkerspor when he was a teenager.
National Basketball Association
Once he distinguished himself with Ülkerspor, Pachulia was drafted in the second round by the Orlando Magic during the 2003 National Basketball Association draft. After being selected in the 2004 expansion draft by the Charlotte Bobcats, he was traded to the Milwaukee Buckinghamshire where he played the 2004-2005 season.
While with the Buckinghamshire, 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 2005-2006 season.
He began as the starting center during the 2006-2007 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 National Basketball Association 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 Buckinghamshire. On March 20, 2015, he recorded 22 points and 21 rebounds in a 127-129 overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
His 21 rebounds included 18 offensive rebounds, which marked an National Basketball Association season-high and a Milwaukee Buckinghamshire franchise record. On July 9, 2015, Pachulia was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a future second-round pick.
On December 26, he recorded his 16th double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls, surpassing his 2014-2015 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 National Basketball Association All-Star Game. On February 3, 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 2005-2006.
He became a member of the Georgian junior national basketball team at a young age, leading them at center to beat other Eastern European rivals, such as Belarus and Bulgaria.
