Zaza Pachulia, a Georgian professional basketball player, was born as Zaur Pachulia on February 10, 1984, in Tbilisi, which was then part of the Georgian SSR in the Soviet Union. His name was later legally changed to Zaza Pachulia. Although he has played professionally in Turkey and holds dual citizenship, Pachulia represents Georgia at the international level. Known for his role as a center, Pachulia captained the Georgian national basketball team in several international tournaments. Standing at six feet eight inches tall by the age of 13, he had a notable physical presence early in life. His professional basketball journey began with the Turkish club Ulkerspor, marking his first appearance in international leagues.
Pachulia demonstrated exceptional skill in basketball from a young age, becoming a member of the Georgian Junior National Basketball Team during his adolescence. His professional career started when he played for Ulkerspor, one of the leading teams in Turkey’s top basketball league. As a center, his performances were strong enough to draw attention from talent scouts, especially for his ability to compete against European opponents such as Belarus and Bulgaria. Though he played professionally in Turkey, he continued to represent Georgia internationally, where he consistently served as a team leader and was often the focal point of the Georgian national squad.
Pachulia entered the NBA in the 2003 Draft, selected in the second round with the 42nd overall pick by the Orlando Magic. After his rookie season, he was picked by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 expansion draft but was quickly traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. In the 2004–05 season with Milwaukee, he averaged 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game—solid numbers that highlighted his potential as a dependable center.
In 2005, he signed with the Atlanta Hawks, where he experienced one of the most productive stretches of his NBA career. Starting most games in the 2005–06 season, Pachulia averaged 11.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. His physical and aggressive play earned him a reputation as a tenacious competitor. During the 2006–07 season, he had a notable on-court confrontation with Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics, after which fans jokingly referred to him as “Balboa,” a nod to the Rocky film series character.
Pachulia also returned briefly to Turkey during the 2011 NBA lockout, playing for Galatasaray. However, he rejoined the NBA and continued his career with several teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks, and eventually the Golden State Warriors. Over the span of his NBA career, Pachulia appeared in 1,098 regular-season games, starting 465 of them. He recorded averages of 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Contrary to outdated reports, he was no longer with the Dallas Mavericks in 2015–16; that season, he averaged a career-best 9.4 rebounds per game while playing with Dallas. A leg injury temporarily sidelined him in January, but he returned later in the season.
| Net Worth 2021: | 3 million |
