Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

Abdul-Rauf with Kyoto Hannaryz in 2010
Personal information
Born	(1969-03-09) March 9, 1969 (age 55) Gulfport, Mississippi, U.S.
High school	Gulfport (Gulfport, Mississippi)
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	162 lb (73 kg)
Career information
College	LSU (1988–1990)
NBA Draft	1990 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Pro career	1990–2011
Career history
1990–1996	Denver Nuggets
1996–1998	Sacramento Kings
1998–1999	Fenerbahçe
2000–2001	Vancouver Grizzlies
2003–2004	Ural Great
2004–2005	Sedima Roseto
2006–2007	Aris BC
2007–2008	Al-Ittihad
2009–2011	Kyoto Hannaryz
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1991) NBA Most Improved Player (1993) Russian Cup champion (2004) 2× Consensus first-team All-American (1989, 1990) USBWA National Freshman of the Year (1989) 2× SEC Player of the Year (1989, 1990) 2× First-team All-SEC (1989, 1990) SEC All-Freshman Team (1989) No. 35 jersey retired by LSU Tigers McDonald's All-American (1988) First-team Parade All-American (1988) Second-team Parade All-American (1987) 2× Mississippi Mr. Basketball (1987, 1988)
Career NBA statistics
Points	8,553 (14.6 ppg)
Rebounds	1,087 (1.9 rpg)
Assists	2,079 (3.5 apg)

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (born Chris Wayne Jackson; March 9, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for nine years with the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Vancouver Grizzlies.

Abdul-Rauf played college basketball for the LSU Tigers from 1988 to 1990 and was a consensus first-team All-American both seasons he played. He was chosen as the 3rd overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. Abdul-Rauf was selected for the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 1993, appeared in the Slam Dunk Contest at the 1993 NBA All-Star Weekend, and was one of the league's most accurate free throw shooters. After his NBA career, he played in multiple leagues around the world.

Abdul-Rauf sparked controversy during his NBA career when he refused to stand for the national anthem in a sign of protest and called the flag of the United States a symbol of oppression.

Early life and career

Abdul-Rauf was born Chris Jackson in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Jacqueline Jackson. He was raised in a single-parent family, along with his two brothers, Omar and David. His childhood was characterized by poverty, as there were times when he and his brothers were not able to have proper nutrition. Abdul-Rauf missed the fourth grade and was later placed in special education classes. He had a moderate form of Tourette syndrome, a condition that went undiagnosed until he was 17. Abdul-Rauf managed to overcome difficulties to become a basketball prodigy for Gulfport High School. In his senior season in high school he averaged 29.9 points and 5.7 assists per game and was called up to the McDonald's All-American Game. He was also named Mississippi Mr. Basketball twice, in 1987 and 1988.

Having never played an organized game, Abdul-Rauf was discovered by a middle-school girls coach in Gulfport, MS during lunch period on the playground. Recognizing his skill, she convinced his mother to allow him to play organized basketball. In his first game, despite not knowing the rules, Abdul-Rauf scored 24 points. (Source: Beckett Publications)

College career

Abdul-Rauf was a standout freshman for LSU, scoring 48 points against Louisiana Tech in just his third game for the school. He set the scoring record for a freshman, with 53 points against Florida. On March 4, 1989, he scored 55 points against Ole Miss to top his personal best, while also setting a career-high for three-pointers made, with 10. In the same game, Ole Miss' Gerald Glass scored 53, making their 108 combined points the most ever by two players in an SEC game He appeared in 32 games in his freshman season, setting the NCAA record for points by a freshman (965) and points per game by a freshman (30.2). He was named SEC Player of the Year and First-team All-American. In his sophomore season, he produced similar numbers with his scoring average slightly falling to 27.8 per game. On February 10, 1990, he tied his career-high for three-pointers made, while finishing the game with 49 points. He was named SEC Player of the Year and First-team All-American for a second year in a row. After a remarkable two-year stint at LSU, Abdul-Rauf declared for the NBA draft.

His #35 jersey was retired by the Tigers in 2020.

Professional career

Abdul-Rauf was selected with the third pick in the 1990 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. In his first season in the NBA he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Despite the fact that he never dunked in an actual game, he participated in the 1993 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, after Nuggets president and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff sent NBA league officials a tape of Abdul-Rauf showcasing his dunking ability. Abdul-Rauf led the league in free throw percentage in the 1993–94 and 1995–96 seasons. His free throw percentage of .956 in 1993–94 is the third highest seasonal percentage in NBA history, behind Calvin Murphy (.958, 1980–81) and José Calderón (.981, 2008–09). He played with Denver until 1996, and was a key player on that team, winning the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 1993. In November 1995 he scored 30 points and a career-high 20 assists against the Phoenix Suns. On December 8, 1995, Abdul-Rauf posted a career-high 51 points against the Utah Jazz. In June 1996, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Sarunas Marciulionis and a second-round pick.

In 1998 Abdul-Rauf signed a two-year, $3.4 million contract with Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketball League. He left the club without finishing the season, stating he would retire from basketball due to loss of interest in the game. After not playing for the entire 1999–00 season, he signed with the Vancouver Grizzlies in August 2000. In December 2003 Abdul-Rauf signed with Ural Great of the Russian Basketball Super League. In 2004, he signed with Italian Serie A club Sedima Roseto. Averaging 18.4 points and 2.2 assists per game in the 2004–05 season he signed a contract with Udine in July 2005, but he sat out the entire season due to a torn achilles tendon. For the 2006–07 season, he came out of retirement for the third time in his career to play for Aris Thessaloniki. In November 2007 he signed a contract with Al-Ittihad of the Saudi Basketball League. In August 2009 he signed with Basketball Japan League team Kyoto Hannaryz. He averaged 17.9 points in 38 games in his first season in Japan. In July 2010, he re-signed with Kyoto Hannaryz for the 2010–11 season.

He is currently playing in the BIG3 basketball league for the 3 Headed Monsters. In 2018 he placed 5th in 3-point field goal percentage hitting them at a 45.5% clip.

NBA career statistics

Source:

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Abdul-Rauf was introduced to Islam when he was given the book The Autobiography of Malcolm X by his LSU coach, Dale Brown. He was introduced to the Quran during his rookie season with the Denver Nuggets and converted to Islam shortly afterward. He changed his name from Chris Jackson to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in 1993. He is the father of five children.

Following his NBA career, Abdul-Rauf moved to Florida after his house in Necaise, Mississippi was burned to the ground in 2001. Investigators determined it was arson, and the FBI investigated, according to the Clarion-Ledger, but no one was ever charged.

In December 2001, Abdul-Rauf appeared on an episode of HBO's Real Sports where he stated that he thought the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. were an inside job and suggested that Israel might have been involved in the attacks.

See also

In Spanish: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf para niños

• SEC Player of the year winners
• List of NBA season free throw percentage leaders
• List of converts to Islam
• List of American Muslims