Zaza Pachulia Busted Out His Inner Running Back With This Brutal Stiff Arm

So it’s no surprise that Zaza Pachulia is a bit of an instigator. Anyone who has watched Pachulia at any point during his NBA career knows this – he’s a talented big man whose biggest skill is his willingness to throw his body around down low and riling opponents, which he did on Monday night during Golden State’s loss to Miami.

Pachulia was running down the court after a change in possession when he threw out his left hand and hit Luke Babbitt with a nasty stiff arm. It caught Babbitt off guard, which usually happens when you get shoved in the face during a basketball game, but he didn’t go to ground, which is admirable.

Golden State’s center has made headlines over the last few days for his on-court antics. Most notably, Pachulia and Russell Westbrook got into a war of words after Pachulia fouled Westbrook hard and stood over the Thunder guard. Westbrook promised he would get back at Pachulia, while the Warriors’ big man said he is welcoming the challenge.

As long as Pachulia is in the NBA, his main role will be to rile people up. Once his NBA career is over, though, he looks like he’d be pretty good at fighting off pesky linebackers in the NFL.