Zaza Pachulia is a famous bad guy in the NBA. In his 16 seasons in his career, he averaged 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, which is not outstanding. He is at best a blue-collar role, but because of his dirty He is notorious for his hurtful moves. His hurtful moves can be featured on 10-minute highlights, so some people call him a "scumbag". He even once stepped on Kawhi Leonard and changed the league's structure.
In the 16-17 season, the Thunder challenged the Warriors away from home. In the third quarter of the game, Westbrook called a pick-and-roll at the top of the arc. Pachulia, who came up to defend, punched Westbrook in the face with both fists, causing Westbrook to fall to the ground in pain. But Pachulia still stood there and glared at Westbrook. What was even more annoying was that Warriors player Iguodala spread his hands and expressed confusion, while Green kept applauding behind him. Fortunately, Westbrook was fine. He stood up, shook his head disdainfully, and continued to focus on the game.
One year later, at the home court of the Warriors, Westbrook missed a layup and fell to the ground while grabbing a rebound from Nick Young. At this time, Pachulia next to him took his time and headed towards He pressed down on Westbrook's left knee. You must know that Westbrook's left knee has always been injured. Some Warriors fans explained that Pachulia was too heavy and fell due to being hit by Nick Young whose center of gravity was unstable. But in slow motion, you can see that he deliberately moved his foot forward, and then aimed at Westbrook's leg and pressed it down. At that time, many players supported Westbrook and demanded sanctions on Pachulia. Irving also tweeted, "The league must pay attention to this person."
Later Pachulia was traded to the Pistons and faced the Thunder again. During a make-up defense, Westbrook swung his arm and slapped Pachulia to the ground, earning a technical foul. However, netizens applauded and said that evil will be punished. In that game, Westbrook also achieved the achievement of averaging a triple-double for three consecutive seasons, which was really relieved.
In the first game of the 2017 Western Conference Finals, the Spurs unexpectedly led by more than 20 points. Pachulia stood up in the third quarter. When he went to the baseline to defend Leonard, he stretched his foot forward twice in a row and occupied Leonard's foothold in advance. Leonard stepped on his foot when he landed. His feet and ankles were seriously injured, and then Pachulia actually put his head in his hands and looked innocent. Then Leonard was reimbursed for the playoffs, and the Spurs, who lost their main force, were eventually swept 0-4 and missed the finals. Later, when Pachulia talked about this incident on the show, she actually defended herself and said that she didn't mean it. I can only say that the audience's eyes were sharp.
Pachulia's move completely changed the league's structure. Because in 2017, the Spurs were supposed to enter the Finals, but by mistake, Durant won the first championship. James was defeated by the Warriors in the Finals for two consecutive years, so he moved to the Western Conference. Leonard also fell out with the Spurs because of this injury, and was eventually traded to the Raptors. Originally, James traveled to the East and the Bucks were the only one, but Leonard's arrival made the Raptors suddenly emerge, and they eliminated the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. And finally won the first championship in team history. Just a stepping stone indirectly affected the historical status of Leonard, Durant, Curry, James and Antetokounmpo.