Zaid Abdul-Aziz (born Donald A. Smith; April 7, 1946) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He was known as Don Smith until he changed his name to Zaid Abdul-Aziz in 1976 after he converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Abdul-Aziz starred for the

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's and 1 ...

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

before he was selected by the

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Kings are the ...

as the fifth overall pick in the

1968 NBA draft 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. co ...

. He played ten seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) as a member of the Royals,

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference ...

, and

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. Abdul-Aziz was nicknamed "The Kangaroo".

Playing career

Abdul-Aziz played

for the

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 The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

selection. Abdul-Aziz was chosen by the

as the fifth overall pick in the

and traded to the

during his rookie season. He was traded to the

for Lucius Allen and

Bob Boozer Robert Louis Boozer (April 26, 1937 – May 19, 2012) 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 ...

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 Pericarditis () is inflammation of the pericardium, the fibrous sac surrounding the heart. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp chest pain, which may also be felt in the shoulders, neck, or back. The pain is typically less severe whe ...

. Abdul-Aziz converted to Islam during his time with the SuperSonics. On September 18, 1972, his contract was bought by the

. Abdul-Aziz had been the team's starting

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

prior to the 1974–75 season. The Muslim holy month of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

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 The International Volleyball Association was a short lived co-ed professional volleyball league in the United States from 1975 to 1980. Like other major sports leagues in the United States, it had two geographic divisions. However, its teams wer ...

in 1978 and 1979. Abdul-Aziz studied chemical dependency at

Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...

and earned a state licence. He worked as a drug and alcohol counselor in Seattle after his playing career.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1968–69 , align="left" ,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, 20 , , – , , 5.4 , , .419 , , – , , .286 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , – , , – , , 1.9 , - , align="left" , 1968–69 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 29 , , – , , 28.9 , , .363 , , – , , .642 , , 13.0 , , 1.1 , , – , , – , , 11.0 , - , align="left" , 1969–70 , align="left" ,

, 80 , , – , , 20.5 , , .434 , , – , , .643 , , 7.5 , , .8 , , – , , – , , 7.4 , - , align="left" , 1970–71 , align="left" ,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 61 , , – , , 20.9 , , .441 , , – , , .739 , , 7.7 , , .7 , , – , , – , , 10.9 , - , align="left" , 1971–72 , align="left" ,

, 58 , , – , , 30.7 , , .429 , , – , , .720 , , 11.3 , , 2.1 , , – , , – , , 13.8 , - , align="left" ,

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

, align="left" ,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 48 , , – , , 18.8 , , .397 , , – , , .735 , , 6.3 , , 1.1 , , – , , – , , 8.7 , - , align="left" , 1973–74 , align="left" ,

, 79 , , – , , 31.1 , , .459 , , – , , .804 , , 11.7 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , 10.9 , - , align="left" , 1974–75 , align="left" ,

, 65 , , – , , 22.3 , , .437 , , – , , .783 , , 7.5 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 1.1 , , 9.7 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" ,

, 27 , , – , , 8.3 , , .467 , , – , , .552 , , 2.8 , , .6 , , .3 , , .6 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" ,

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

, 22 , , – , , 8.9 , , .338 , , – , , .767 , , 4.1 , , .3 , , .1 , , .4 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 2 , , – , , 12.0 , , .231 , , – , , .667 , , 7.5 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

, 14 , , – , , 9.6 , , 426 , , – , , .750 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .1 , , .1 , , 3.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 505 , , – , , 21.8 , , .428 , , – , , .728 , , 8.0 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 9.0

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, align="left" ,

, 7 , , – , , 11.7 , , .579 , , – , , .800 , , 3.7 , , 0.6 , , – , , – , , 4.3 , - , align="left" ,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, align="left" ,

, 6 , , – , , 11.3 , , .387 , , – , , .400 , , 2.8 , , 0.5 , , – , , – , , 4.3 , - , align="left" ,

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , – , , 12.0 , , .700 , , – , , .727 , , 4.2 , , 0.4 , , – , , – , , 7.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="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

for the

Seattle Pacific Falcons The Seattle Pacific Falcons (also SPU Falcons) are the 12 varsity athletic teams that represent Seattle Pacific University, located in Seattle, Washington, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Falcons compete as members of the Great N ...

and professionally in Brazil. Abdul-Aziz was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He credits his religious awakening to a

practice session where he was approached by teammate

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

and failed to explain a gold

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

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 The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

. 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.

References

External links

Career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul-Aziz, Zaid 1946 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen African-American Muslims All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Brooklyn Boston Celtics players Buffalo Braves players Centers (basketball) Cincinnati Royals draft picks Cincinnati Royals players Converts to Islam Houston Rockets players Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks players Muslims from New York (state) Power forwards Seattle SuperSonics players