Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

He was chosen as the 3rd overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

He played with Denver until 1996, and was a key player on that team, winning the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 1993.

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.

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