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Houston Rockets Birthdays: The interesting story behind Zaid Abdul-Aziz

Born April 7, 1946, Zaid Abdul-Aziz was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Royals in 1968. A few years later, Abdul-Aziz found himself on the Houston Rockets, where he would spend his next three seasons.

Before joining Houston, Zaid played in 20 games with Cincinnati, 109 with Milwaukee and 119 with Seattle. It was during his tenure with the SuperSonics that he made a life-changing decision. Before Zaid Abdul-Aziz was Zaid Abdul-Aziz, his name was actually Donald Smith.

It was during his Seattle days that Smith converted to Islam, forever changing his name to Zaid Abdul-Aziz.