Zaid Abdul-Aziz

Last updated
Zaid Abdul-Aziz
Zaid Abdul-Aziz ISU.jpg
Abdul-Aziz with the Iowa State Cyclones during the 1967–68 season
Personal information
Born (1946-04-07) April 7, 1946 (age 77)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school John Jay (Brooklyn, New York)
College Iowa State (1965–1968)
NBA draft 1968: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Cincinnati Royals
Playing career1968–1978
Position Power forward / center
Number21, 16, 35, 6, 54, 27
Career history
1968–1969 Cincinnati Royals
1969–1970 Milwaukee Bucks
1970–1972 Seattle SuperSonics
1972–1975 Houston Rockets
1976 Seattle SuperSonics
1976–1977 Buffalo Braves
1978 Boston Celtics
1978 Houston Rockets
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 4,557 (9.0 ppg)
Rebounds 4,065 (8.0 rpg)
Assists 601 (1.2 apg)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com

Zaid Abdul-Aziz (born Donald A. Smith; April 7, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player. He was known as Don Smith until he changed his name to Zaid Abdul-Aziz in 1976 after he converted to Islam. [1]

Contents

Abdul-Aziz starred for the Iowa State Cyclones in college basketball before he was selected by the Cincinnati Royals as the fifth overall pick in the 1968 NBA draft. He played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Royals, Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle SuperSonics, Houston Rockets, Buffalo Braves, and Boston Celtics. Abdul-Aziz was nicknamed "The Kangaroo".

Playing career

Abdul-Aziz played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones from 1965 to 1968. [2] He was selected as the Big Eight Player of the Year in 1968 and was a three-time first-team All-Big Eight Conference selection. [2] [3] Abdul-Aziz was chosen by the Cincinnati Royals as the fifth overall pick in the 1968 NBA draft and traded to the Milwaukee Bucks during his rookie season. [2] He was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for Lucius Allen and Bob Boozer in 1970. [2] Abdul-Aziz initially disputed the trade and planned to sue the NBA but instead flourished with the SuperSonics. [2] He enjoyed a career-best season as he averaged 13.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game during the 1971–72 season until he was sidelined with pericarditis. [2]

Abdul-Aziz converted to Islam during his time with the SuperSonics. [1] On September 18, 1972, his contract was bought by the Houston Rockets. [4] Abdul-Aziz had been the team's starting center prior to the 1974–75 season. [1] [5] The Muslim holy month of Ramadan coincided with a Rockets training camp where Abdul-Aziz entered an anemic-like state due to his fasting. [1] He found himself unable to play and told the team's general manager that he was quitting the team. [1] Abdul-Aziz's father convinced him to return but he lost his position in the Rockets' line-up and never again played as a starting center in the NBA. [1] Abdul-Aziz played his final three years as a backup on various teams before he announced his retirement in 1978 at the age of 32. [1]

Later career

Abdul-Aziz coached the Saudi Arabia national basketball team. [2] He was an investor in the Seattle Smashers of the International Volleyball Association in 1978 and 1979. [6]

Abdul-Aziz studied chemical dependency at Seattle University and earned a state licence. [2] He worked as a drug and alcohol counselor in Seattle after his playing career. [2]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1968–69 Cincinnati 20–5.4.419–.2861.6.2––1.9
1968–69 Milwaukee 29–28.9.363–.64213.01.1––11.0
1969–70 Milwaukee 80–20.5.434–.6437.5.8––7.4
1970–71 Seattle 61–20.9.441–.7397.7.7––10.9
1971–72 Seattle 58–30.7.429–.72011.32.1––13.8
1972–73 Houston 48–18.8.397–.7356.31.1––8.7
1973–74 Houston 79–31.1.459–.80411.72.11.01.310.9
1974–75 Houston 65–22.3.437–.7837.51.3.61.19.7
1975–76 Seattle 27–8.3.467–.5522.8.6.3.63.2
1976–77 Buffalo 22–8.9.338–.7674.1.3.1.43.8
1977–78 Boston 2–12.0.231–.6677.51.5.5.54.0
1977–78 Houston 14–9.6426–.7502.5.5.1.13.9
Career505–21.8.428–.7288.01.2.61.09.0

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1970 Milwaukee 7–11.7.579–.8003.70.6––4.3
1975 Houston 6–11.3.387–.4002.80.5––4.3
1976 Seattle 5–12.0.700–.7274.20.4––7.2
Career18–11.7.529–.5003.60.5––5.1

Personal life

As of 2011, Abdul-Aziz lived in the Northgate neighborhood of Seattle with his Moroccan-born wife. [2] He has five children from two marriages. [2] Abdul-Aziz's son, Yusef Smith, played college basketball for the Seattle Pacific Falcons and professionally in Brazil. [2]

Abdul-Aziz was raised Catholic. He credits his religious awakening to a Milwaukee Bucks practice session where he was approached by teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and failed to explain a gold cross that he was wearing around his neck when questioned. Abdul-Aziz went to a Milwaukee library to learn about religions and borrowed a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, Bible, Quran and Torah. Abdul-Aziz stated: "everything pointed me to Islam. So the next year I became a Muslim." [7]

In 2006, Abdul-Aziz published a memoir, Darkness to Sunlight, which tells the stories of his basketball career, personal challenges, and spiritual journey. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milwaukee Bucks</span> National Basketball Association team in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and play at Fiserv Forum. Former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was the long-time owner of the team, but on April 16, 2014, a group led by billionaire hedge fund managers Wes Edens and Marc Lasry agreed to purchase a majority interest in the team from Kohl, a sale which was approved by the owners of the NBA and its Board of Governors one month later on May 16. The team is managed by Jon Horst, the team's former director of basketball operations, who took over from John Hammond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Karl</span> American basketball coach and player (born 1951)

George Matthew Karl is an American former professional basketball coach and player. After spending five years as a player for the San Antonio Spurs, Karl became an assistant with the team before getting the chance to become a head coach in 1981 with the Continental Basketball Association. Three years later, he became one of the youngest NBA head coaches in history when he was named coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers at age 33. By the time his coaching career came to an end in 2016, Karl coached nine different teams in three different leagues, which included being named Coach of the Year three combined times with one championship in the FIBA Saporta Cup. He is one of nine coaches in NBA history to have won 1,000 NBA games and was named NBA Coach of the Year for the 2012–13 season. While he never won an NBA championship, Karl made the postseason 22 times with five different teams, which included a trip to the 1996 NBA Finals with the Seattle SuperSonics.

Robert L. Dandridge Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed the "Greyhound", Dandridge was a four-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA champion, who scored 15,530 points in his career. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Stotts</span> American basketball coach and former player

Terry Linn Stotts is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2012 to 2021 before most recently spending an offseason as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Sikma</span> American basketball player-coach

Jack Wayne Sikma is an American former professional basketball center. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star with the Seattle SuperSonics, who drafted him in the first round with the eighth overall pick of the 1977 NBA draft. In 1979, he won an NBA championship with Seattle. Sikma finished his playing career with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vin Baker</span> American basketball player and coach

Vinny Lamont Baker is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He appeared in four consecutive All-Star Games. As of 2018, Baker serves as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 1968 NBA draft was the 22nd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 3, 1968, and May 8 and 10, 1968 before the 1968–69 season. In this draft, 14 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each division, with the order determined by a coin flip. The San Diego Rockets won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Baltimore Bullets were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Six teams that had the best records in previous season were not awarded second round draft picks. Two expansion franchises, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the seventh and eighth pick in the first round, along with the last two picks of each subsequent round. The St. Louis Hawks relocated to Atlanta and became the Atlanta Hawks prior to the start of the season. The draft consisted of 21 rounds comprising 214 players selected.

Richard Charles Pierce is an American retired National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Deuces" and "Big Paper Daddy", he was selected as an NBA All-Star (1991) and was twice the NBA Sixth Man of the Year while with the Milwaukee Bucks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Boozer</span> American basketball player (1937–2012)

Robert Louis Boozer was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Boozer won a gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics and won an NBA Championship as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971. Boozer was a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team, which was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a unit in 2010.

The 1986–87 NBA season was the 41st season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their fourth championship of the decade, beating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Brisker</span> American basketball player

John Brisker was an American professional basketball player who disappeared on April 11, 1978, after allegedly visiting Uganda. He played college basketball for the Toledo Rockets until he left the team during his senior season in 1968. Brisker began his professional career with the Pittsburgh Pipers / Condors of the American Basketball Association (ABA) where he was a two-time ABA All-Star. He played for the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1972 to 1975. Brisker finished his career with the Cherry Hill Rookies of the Eastern Basketball Association (EBA) in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonnie Shelton</span>

Lonnie Jewel Shelton was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player who played from 1976 to 1985.

The 1980 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1979–80 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. The Lakers earned their seventh NBA title, their second since moving from Minneapolis.

The 1990–91 NBA season was the 23rd season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. Head coach Bernie Bickerstaff was replaced by his former assistant K. C. Jones, and went on to occupy the desk of vice-president of Basketball Operations for Seattle, resigning months later to accept a job as General Manager of the Denver Nuggets. The Draft Lottery gave the SuperSonics the No. 2 pick, which was used to select future All-Star point guard Gary Payton out of Oregon State in the 1990 NBA draft.

The 1989–90 NBA season was the 22nd season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. It was Bernie Bickerstaff's last season as head coach of the Sonics, and the first season for rookie and future All-Star forward Shawn Kemp, who was selected with the 17th pick in the 1989 NBA draft. After winning two of their first three games, the Sonics lost in a quintuple-overtime game on November 9 to the Milwaukee Bucks, 155–154 at the Bradley Center. The Sonics played around .500 for the entire season, holding a 22–23 record at the All-Star break, and peaking late in the season at 34–32 before going 7–9 to end their season, as they finished fourth in the Pacific Division with a 41–41 record, losing the #8 seed in the Western Conference to the Houston Rockets, who had the same record but were ahead after tie-breaks, and thus did not reach the playoffs.

The 1971–72 NBA season was the 26th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.

The 1990–91 NBA season was the Bucks' 23rd season in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Bucks acquired Frank Brickowski from the San Antonio Spurs, and acquired Danny Schayes from the Denver Nuggets. However, Larry Krystkowiak would miss the entire season with a knee injury. The Bucks started the season on a strong note winning their first 18 home games on their way to a 25–8 start. However, they would lose ten of their next twelve games, and held a 30–19 record at the All-Star break. Sixth man Ricky Pierce and Alvin Robertson were both selected for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game; it was Pierce's only All-Star appearance. At midseason, Pierce was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Dale Ellis. In April, the team signed free agent and former All-Star forward Adrian Dantley, as Ellis went down with a lower back injury. The Bucks would make their 12th consecutive playoff appearance finishing third in the Central Division with a 48–34 record, while posting a 33–8 home record at the Bradley Center.

The 1970–71 Seattle SuperSonics season was the Seattle SuperSonics 4th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In their second season with Lenny Wilkens as head coach, the Sonics finished in 8th place in the Western Conference with a 38–44 record.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Burton, Austin (April 2, 2014). "Zaid Abdul-Aziz and the challenge of being a Muslim athlete". Seattle Times. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Raley, Dan (March 19, 2011). "Where Are They Now? Ex-Sonic Zaid Abdul-Aziz". Seattle P-I. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Centennial Moments: Zaid Abdul-Aziz". Iowa State Cyclones. December 19, 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Sports News in Brief". The New York Times. September 19, 1972. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  5. ↑ Rogers, Thomas (December 28, 1974). "Abdul-Aziz, Center For Rockets, Retires". The New York Knicks. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  6. ↑ Raley, Dan (March 23, 2011). "Where Are They Now? IVA venture undermined by Olympic boycott of '80". Seattle P-I. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Burton, Austin L. (April 3, 2014). "Former NBA star Zaid Abdul-Aziz found sunlight after darkness". Ummah Sports. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.