A stressful summer for Pachulia

ATLANTA — This summer's military conflict between the Republic of Georgia and Russia won't rate a major headline in the annals of world history.

In the lives of Georgian expatriates like 24-year-old Atlanta Hawks center Zaza Pachulia, however, the fighting that escalated into Russian troops invading his homeland, the frightening stain of what could have been will never fade.

Pachulia's summer workout routine was interrupted Aug. 7 when news broke that military attacks were being initiated back home. Basketball took a backseat to the reality that his native land could be torn apart.

Even after a ceasefire was signed six days later, Pachulia's fears of what would become of the family and friends he left behind lingered.

Only recently has he been able to resume sleeping through the night, though the thousands that died and many more that were left displaced or homeless remain on his mind.

"I thought I'd dealt with stressful times in my life, leaving home to play professional basketball as a young teenager and later coming to the United States and the NBA," Pachulia said during the Hawks' media day session earlier this week. "But this summer was the most stressful time of my life. I had family and friends left behind, I had friends on the front line fighting and I couldn't do anything to be there for them physically or in person. It's a helpless feeling.

"You're scared and angry and confused all at the same time. Nothing makes sense and not being able to be there to help fix things ... it's just a helpless feeling. And it forced me to really take a look at my life and how much you can take for granted certain things, even if you don't mean to do that. Everything changed for me this summer."

Pachulia did what he could from afar, taking an active role politically in bringing awareness to what was going on.

He was at the forefront for two different peace rallies and appeared on CNN multiple times to put a face on the conflict for observers from around the world.

"I've got a lot of respect for ZP and how he handled himself during that time," said Hawks small forward Marvin Williams, who was by Pachulia's side, along with former teammate Josh Childress, during one of those peace rallies. "He went through something this summer that most of us here will never have to even worry about. Can you imagine tanks rolling down the streets and not being able to find your family and friends at a time like that?"

Pachulia couldn't go home this summer, the conflict forcing him to miss the Georgian National Games and interrupting preparations for the qualifying tournament for the 2009 European Championships.

"Honestly, playing basketball was the last thing on my mind at that time," Pachulia said. "Like I said, this summer was about things much bigger than basketball. I'm not trying to disrespect the game because it's been great to me, but when compared to people losing their lives and their homes and everything they know, it's just bigger than basketball."

Still it was Pachulia's basketball family, and the Hawks, that were there for him during his time of need.

"The support here was and remains great," Pachulia said. "I heard from my teammates, coaches, our owners, many fans and other people that just wanted to see things calm down. They were all concerned about not only how I was doing but also what was going on back home. They've supported me every step of the way. And I'll always be grateful for that."

Sekou Smith writes for