Landon Buford
Pachulia and the Pistons were recently in town to face the Dallas Mavericks. After the Pistons morning shootaround, Piston’s coach Dwane Casey talked about the leadership Zaza brings to the Pistons’ locker room.
“You cannot, but what Zaza brings to the table. Winning a champion he knows what they went through to get there the nuances of the NBA and loves to give back. He loves to talk to the young players and teach them. I know one day he took the rookies out to the mall and dinner. Talking basketball with them and teaching them on how to be a professional those things are so important for a veteran to do for rookies. Those two men will never forget that as long as they’re in the NBA,” said Casey.
After coach Casey was finished with his media scrum, I spoke with Pachulia and him what was the type of locker room leadership he wanted to instill into the rookies on his time.
“This game is more than basketball their friendships and relationships. There is enjoy, and this is a very hard thing that we are doing practicing, playing a lot of games, and traveling so, if you don’t balance your life on and off the court it very hard. If you want to balance you have to make sure you are doing the right things. Obviously, for the veterans like Jose and myself, we are doing more than just practicing and being backups. Off the court, activities to be team chemistry is very important,” Pachulia told me.
Zaza Pachulia is a sixteen year veteran from Georgia formally part of the Soviet republic. The Orlando Magic drafted Pachulia in the second round in the 2003 NBA Draft, and a year later he was picked up by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 expansion draft. He was then traded to the Milwaukee Bucks and played the 2004-2005 season. During his time with the Bucks, Pachulia averaged 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds as a part of their second unit. Pachulia would then sign a deal with the Atlanta Hawks as their starting center.
While Pachulia was in Atlanta, he averaged 11.7 points and 7.9 rebounds. He would stay in Atlanta up until 2011, but due to the lockout, that season decided to sign with Galatasaray of the Turkish basketball league. Pachulia would return to the Hawks in December of that season.
In 2016, Pachulia signed a contract to become a member of the Golden State Warriors. The Warrior would go on to win their second championship in three seasons. Pachulia also made some history of his own by becoming the first player from Georgia to win an NBA Championship. The following season the club went back to back winning their third championship in four seasons. After the 2017-2018 season, Pachulia signed a deal with the Detroit Pistons.
