Zaza Pachulia Says It Is 'Stupid' to Think He Injured Kawhi Leonard on Purpose

Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia said the boos he'll hear Thursday night in San Antonio won't bother him but maintains it's "stupid" to think he attempted to injure Kawhi Leonard in last year's playoff series. 

“After the closeout, maybe I was too close to him. But it was stupid when people said that it was on purpose,” Pachulia told reporters. “There’s no way you can work on that and think about it. In the playoffs in the Conference Finals? Are you kidding me? This is such a game of quick decisions, so quick. How the hell are you going to plan that?”

Leonard reaggravated an existing ankle injury in Game 1 of the Spurs' Western Conference Finals matchup with the Warriors last season after landing on Pachulia's foot on a three-point attempt. The lumbering center attempted to get his hand in Leonard's face and stuck his leg in the Spurs forward's landing area, where Leonard twisted his ankle when he came down.

Leonard missed the remainder of the series. Many, including most Spurs fans, saw it as a dirty play and wanted Pachulia punished for the injury. Gregg Popovich went as far as to draw a comparison to manslaughter, saying Pachulia's intent did not matter—only his action.

“Honestly it had some affect. We talked about it. He made a comment. I made a comment. Then we moved on,” Pachulia said. “I have a lot of respect for Pop. In the history of basketball, he’s one of the greatest coaches. I’m one of those guys that thinks that way. I have a lot of respect for him and what he did for the organization and everything. He made comments. I made comments. It’s history now. We move on. It’s a different year, different goals.”

Leonard will miss Thursday's matchup with an unrelated quad injury that's kept him out of all preseason and regular season games thus far.