Zaza Pachulia is a former basketball player. Zaza Pachulia is currently employed by the NBA team Golden State Warriors as a consultant for basketball operations. Additionally, he led the basketball squad from his native nation in a variety of competitions.
Although Zaza had a long career and received many honors, many people will remember him for his controversial defensive play against Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals of the 2016–2017 NBA season.
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Childhood and Education
Zaza Pachulia was born on February 10th, 1984, in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.
He is Marina and David Pachulia’s son. Later in life, he changed his first name, which was Zaur Pachulia.
Zaza learned how to play basketball thanks to his rapid physical development.
Even at the relatively young age of 13, his measured height was 6 feet and 8 inches.
The Turkish basketball scouts were particularly interested in him because of his blessed height characteristic.
He traveled to Turkey to play for the team Ülkerspor, where he spent 4 years.
He participated in various competitions while playing for the Georgian junior basketball team at this time.
Speaking of his schooling, he received his high school diploma at the age of 16, and he later attended the Public US State Academy where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Education.
He also enrolled in management courses at a number of prestigious American universities, including the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, the Harvard Business School, and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
The NBA player talks to ESPN about his business goals and desire to pursue further education when his competitiveness on the floor has subsided.
English, Russian, Georgian, and Turkish are among the other four languages he is fluent in.
Salary, Net Worth, and Career Earnings
Zaza Pachulia’s net worth is estimated to be $13 million.
It’s clear that his basketball career and a number of business ties with several teams have given him generational wealth.
A 4 year, $19 million contract with the Atlanta Hawks and a 3-year, $15.6 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks are just two examples of the multimillion-dollar contracts he has had during his financial career.
Additionally, he reportedly earns $3.5 million a year from his present position with the Warriors as a basketball operations consultant.
Facts of Zaza Pachulia
| Full Name | Zaza Pachulia |
| Date of Birth | February 10, 1984 |
| Place of Birth | Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nicknames | Z, Balboa |
| Gender | Male |
| Nationality | Georgian, Turkish |
| Religion | Christian |
| Education |
|
| Horoscope | Aquarius |
| Father’s Name | David Pachulia |
| Mother’s Name | Marina Pachulia |
| Siblings | N/A |
| Age | 38 Years Old |
| Listed Height | 6 feet 11 inches (2.11m) |
| Listed Weight | 122 kgs (270 lb.) |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Build | Muscular |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Wife | Tika Pachulia |
| Sons |
|
| Daughters |
|
| Major Profession | Basketball Player, basketball executive |
| Position | Center / Power Forward |
| Current Status | Retired as a player, basketball operation consultant for the Golden State Warriors |
| Draft | 2003, Second Round (42nd overall) |
| Net Worth | $13 million |
| Salary | $3.5 million as a basketball executive |
| Social Media | Instagram, Facebook, Twitter |
| Jersey Number | 27 |
| Merch | Bobblehead |
| Last Updated | 2022 June |
Career
The Orlando Magic selected the Eurasian in the NBA Draft of 2003 following his early career in Turkey.
He was selected 42nd overall in the second round. He only spent one season with the team before being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Zaza played 74 games for Milwaukee during his second season, averaging a league-average 6 points and 5 rebounds.
He moved to Atlanta Hawks in the NBA offseason of 2005, where he played for an incredible 8 seasons.
Additionally, he participated in his first playoff game with the Hawks in 2008, although he lost to the Boston Celtics in the first round.
With Zaza as their center throughout the ensuing years, Atlanta made the playoffs four times in a row.
In 2013, the Georgian and the Hawks broke up. Prior to being moved to the Dallas Mavericks, he returned to play for the Bucks for two more seasons.
Interestingly, he scored 22 points while grabbing 21 rebounds in a game during his brief second stint with the Bucks.
The Bucks still hold the team record for offensive rebounding with 18 of those 22 total rebounds. On March 20, 2015, this took place.
The Golden State Warriors signed him to a one-year contract in July 2016. With the Warriors averaging roughly 6 points and 6 rebounds per game, he participated and made 70 starts.
Zaza became the first Georgian to accomplish the feat when the Warriors went on to win the Finals that season.
It should come as no surprise that The Balboa, as the legend Kevin Garnett dubbed him, also decided to leave the Warriors for the following season.
As they swept the Lebron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors won back-to-back championships.
Prior to his basketball retirement on August 29, 2019, Zaza signed with the Detroit Pistons for the next season.
After winning the championship, he began serving as a basketball operations consultant for GSW.
The Enemy: Disputations and Backlash
There have been highs and lows throughout Pachulia’s career as a basketball player.
Throughout his career, he has participated in numerous chaotic situations while also setting records and winning titles.
It seems that a writer gave him the nickname Balboa because of his memorable argument with NBA legend Kevin Garnett during a game between the Hawks and the Celtics.
Kawhi Leonard’s season was ended by Zaza’s closeout play in the first game of the Western Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors during the 2016–17 NBA season.
After trying a Jump shot, Zaza’s foot fell on Kawhi’s, resulting in a season-ending foot injury.
After that, the Spurs lost the series, and despite Balboa’s continuous denials that the play was intentional, he gained a lot of hate from the crowd.
In addition, the NBA instituted the “Zaza Rule” following this occurrence, which permits referees to declare a flagrant foul if a defending player places his foot in the offensive player’s landing area after the latter attempts a jump.
A similar incident arose the following season when Pachulia collided with then-OKC star Russell Westbrook’s knee on a play.
Furthermore, according to Russell, the play was deliberate, but Pachulia was not punished by the NBA for it.
Wife and Children
With his wife, Tika Pachulia, Zaza Pachulia has a lovely family. Tika was born on December 30, 1987, and she is a Georgian as well.
When Pachulia saw Tika dance ballet, she was immediately taken to her attractiveness, and the two eventually became friends.
At the time, she was a dancer with the Georgian National Ballet. They dated for some time before getting hitched in 2008.
Additionally, the Pachulia couple has four lovely children (two sons and two daughters).
The handsome young daughters Miriam and Nutsa of David and Saba appear to be less interested in basketball than the couple’s sons, who are occasionally spotted playing the game.
Height, Weight, and Age
Zaza Pachulia is at the age of 38. He still maintains a healthy diet and fitness routine while taking good care of his enormous figure.
Additionally, playing basketball with a team after retirement unquestionably keeps him in shape.
According to recently discovered statistics, the approximately 7 feet tall behemoth weighs 122 kg (270 lbs).
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Presence on social media
Pachulia may be found on all significant social media and online networking sites, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
He also frequently posts on social media and is highly active there.
His Facebook profile has 198k fans, and he has 278k Instagram followers.
Zaza has more than 141K followers on her Twitter account.
In addition to this, he has also added his company to LinkedIn.
