On July 12, 2016, Pachulia signed with the Golden State Warriors. On December 22, 2016, he had a season-best game with 15 points and 14 rebounds in a 117–101 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Pachulia helped the Warriors finish the 2016–17 regular season with 67 wins. During Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Spurs, he had an infamous closeout foot slide on Kawhi Leonard, which ruled out Leonard for the rest of the series and effectively ended San Antonio's season. While Pachulia denied that he intended to injure Leonard, he was instantly dubbed a villain by the public and media. The Warriors went on to win the NBA championship after defeating the Cavaliers 4–1 in the 2017 NBA Finals. Pachulia made history for Georgia by becoming the first player from the country to win an NBA Championship. The Warriors finished the playoffs with a 16–1 record, the best postseason winning percentage in NBA history.
