This article is about the basketball player whose birth name was Chris JacksonMahmoud Abdul-Rauf
Point guard
Personal information
Date of birth March 9, 1969 (age 42)
Place of birth Gulfport, Mississippi
Nationality American
High school Gulfport
Listed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight 162 lb (73 kg)
Career information
College Louisiana State (1988–1990)
NBA Draft
1990 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Pro career 1990–present
Career history
1990–1996
Denver Nuggets
1996–1998
Sacramento Kings
1998–1999 Fenerbahçe (Turkey)
2000–2001
Vancouver Grizzlies
2003–2004 Ural Great (Russia)
2004–2005 Sedima Roseto (Italy)
2006–2007 Aris BC (Greece)
2008–2009 Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia)
2009–2011 Kyoto Hannaryz (Japan)
Career highlights and awards
• NBA Most Improved Player (1993)
• 2× SEC Player of the Year (1989, 1990)
• USBWA National Freshman of the Year (1989)
• 2× Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1989, 1990)
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (born Chris Wayne Jackson; March 9, 1969) is an American professional basketball player.
Life and career
Abdul-Rauf was born in Gulfport, Mississippi. After a record-setting college career at Louisiana State University, he was selected with the third pick in the 1990 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets. He changed his name in 1991 upon his conversion to Islam. He played with Denver until 1995, and was a key player on that team, winning the Most Improved Player award in 1993. Abdul-Rauf later went on to play for the Sacramento Kings and later the Vancouver Grizzlies. He led the league in free throw percentage in 1994 and 1996, narrowly missing (by one missed free throw) the NBA all-time record for free-throw percentage in a single season in 1993-94 (he went 219-229 from the line for a 95.6 percentage as opposed to Calvin Murphy’s 95.8% (206-215) all-time record dating back to 1980-81).
After leaving the NBA he played professional basketball in Europe, retiring at the end of 2004-05 season. For the 2006-07 season, he came out of retirement for the third time in his career to play for Aris Thessaloniki.
In July 2010, he signed a contract with the Kyoto Hannaryz of the bj league of Japan. He averaged 17.9 points in 38 games the previous season.[1]Abdul-Rauf overcame the challenge of Tourette syndrome to have an athletic career.[2]National anthem controversy
Abdul-Rauf is perhaps best known for the controversy created when he refused to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner” before games,[3] stating that the flag was a symbol of oppression and that the United States had a long history of tyranny. He said that standing to the national anthem would therefore conflict with his Islamic beliefs. On March 12, 1996, the NBA suspended Abdul-Rauf for his refusal to stand, but the suspension lasted only one game. Two days later, the league was able to work out a compromise with him, whereby he would stand during the playing of the national anthem but could close his eyes and look downward. He usually silently recited a Muslim prayer during this time.
In an apparent publicity stunt gone wrong linked to this controversy, four employees of Denver’s KBPI radio station were charged with misdemeanor offenses related to entering a Colorado mosque and playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” on a bugle and trumpet, in a provocative response to Abdul-Rauf’s refusal to stand for the national anthem.[4] Transactions
• 1990 – First round, #3 pick by Denver Nuggets in 1990 NBA Draft.
• 1996, June 13 – Traded with Sacramento Kings’ Sarunas Marciulionis and second round pick in 1996 NBA Draft.
• 1998 June 18 – Signed a 2-year contract with Fenerbahçe.
• 1999 June 22 – Announced his retirement.
• 2000 August 20 – Free agent signed by Vancouver Grizzlies
Ref.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Abdul-Rauf
