Mahdi Abdul-Rahman
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Mahdi Abdul-Rahman (born April 15, 1942 in Wilmington , Delaware as Walter Raphael Hazzard , † November 18, 2011 in Los Angeles ) was an American basketball player on the position of Shooting Guard with the Los Angeles Lakers , Atlanta Hawks , Buffalo Braves, and Golden State Warriors played in the National Basketball Association . He later worked in college as a basketball coach at UCLA .
Under his maiden name Walt Hazzard , he won the college basketball title for UCLA in 1964 and was named "Most Outstanding Player". This contributed to the fact that he was nominated for the 1964 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal with the US basketball team. He was then committed by the local Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA draft. In 1969 he was transferred to Seattle, where he set up his career high of 24.0 points per game and was voted into the All-Star game. He ended his career with the Hawks, Braves and Warriors.
During his NBA career, Hazzard converted to Islam and took the name Mahdi Abdul-Rahman . He felt that he was cut off from those around him because of this and continued to use his maiden name Hazzard on the field. When he worked as a UCLA coach from 1984 to 1987, he used his new name Abdul-Rahman. In 1996, Abdul-Rahman suffered a stroke that left him handicapped until he died in 2011 after severe heart problems.
Abdul-Rahman was married to his wife Jaleesa and is u. a. Father of DJ Khalil and Rasheed Hazzard .
Web links
- Mahdi Abdul-Rahman in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
- Career statistics
- New York Times obituary notice
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Abdul-Rahman, Mahdi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hazzard, Walter Raphael (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American basketball player and basketball coach |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 15, 1942 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wilmington , Delaware , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 18, 2011 |
| Place of death | Los Angeles , California , United States |