Zaid Abdul-Aziz

Zaid Abdul-Aziz
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 schoolJohn Jay (Brooklyn, New York)
CollegeIowa State (1965–1968)
NBA draft1968: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Cincinnati Royals
Playing career1968–1978
PositionPower forward / center
Number21, 16, 35, 6, 54, 27
Career history
1968–1969Cincinnati Royals
19691970Milwaukee Bucks
19701972Seattle SuperSonics
19721975Houston Rockets
1976Seattle SuperSonics
1976–1977Buffalo Braves
1978Boston Celtics
1978Houston Rockets
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points4,557 (9.0 ppg)
Rebounds4,065 (8.0 rpg)
Assists601 (1.2 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata 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.

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. 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. 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. He was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for Lucius Allen and Bob Boozer in 1970. Abdul-Aziz initially disputed the trade and planned to sue the NBA but instead flourished with the SuperSonics. 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.

Abdul-Aziz converted to Islam during his time with the SuperSonics. On September 18, 1972, his contract was bought by the Houston Rockets. Abdul-Aziz had been the team's starting center prior to the 1974–75 season. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan coincided with a Rockets training camp where Abdul-Aziz entered an anemic-like state due to his fasting. He found himself unable to play and told the team's general manager that he was quitting the team. 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. 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.

Later career

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

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

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games 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

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1968–69 Cincinnati 20 5.4 .419 .286 1.6 .2 1.9
1968–69 Milwaukee 29 28.9 .363 .642 13.0 1.1 11.0
1969–70 Milwaukee 80 20.5 .434 .643 7.5 .8 7.4
1970–71 Seattle 61 20.9 .441 .739 7.7 .7 10.9
1971–72 Seattle 58 30.7 .429 .720 11.3 2.1 13.8
1972–73 Houston 48 18.8 .397 .735 6.3 1.1 8.7
1973–74 Houston 79 31.1 .459 .804 11.7 2.1 1.0 1.3 10.9
1974–75 Houston 65 22.3 .437 .783 7.5 1.3 .6 1.1 9.7
1975–76 Seattle 27 8.3 .467 .552 2.8 .6 .3 .6 3.2
1976–77 Buffalo 22 8.9 .338 .767 4.1 .3 .1 .4 3.8
1977–78 Boston 2 12.0 .231 .667 7.5 1.5 .5 .5 4.0
1977–78 Houston 14 9.6 426 .750 2.5 .5 .1 .1 3.9
Career 505 21.8 .428 .728 8.0 1.2 .6 1.0 9.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1970 Milwaukee 7 11.7 .579 .800 3.7 0.6 4.3
1975 Houston 6 11.3 .387 .400 2.8 0.5 4.3
1976 Seattle 5 12.0 .700 .727 4.2 0.4 7.2
Career 18 11.7 .529 .500 3.6 0.5 5.1

Personal life

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

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."

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


This page was last updated at 2023-11-12 15:17 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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