The Houston Rockets have had players donning a total of 52 different jersey numbers (and have one not part of any numerical series for Houston assistant coach and general manager Carroll Dawson) since their founding at the start of the 1967-68 season, worn by just under 500 players in the course of Rockets history.
To honor all of the players who wore those numbers over the decades, Rockets Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who wore them since the founding of the team all those years ago right up to the present day.
With seven of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Rockets of all time to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover.
And for today’s article, we will continue with the third of eight who wore the No. 27, big man Zaid Abdul-Aziz. After ending his college career at Iowa State, Abdul-Aziz was picked up with the fifth overall selection of the 1968 NBA Draft by the (then) Cincinnati Royals (now, Sacramento Kings).
The Brooklyn, New York native played the first 20 games of his pro career with the Royals. He also played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle SuperSonics before he had his contract sold to the Houston Rockets in 1972. His first stint lasted until he was cut in 1975. In between, he played for the SuperSonics, (then) Buffalo Braves (now, Boston Celtics – it’s a long story), and the Celtics before he signed with Houston for the final season of his career.
During his time suiting up for the Rockets, Abdul-Aziz wore only jersey Nos. 6, 27, and 35 and put up 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Houston Rockets jersey history No.27 – Zaid Abdul-Aziz (1978)
Reporting by Justin Quinn, Rockets Wire / Rockets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Justin Quinn, Rockets Wire | USA TODAY Network
