Zaid Abdul-Aziz was born as “Don Smith” on April 7th, 1946 in Brooklyn, NY. After honoring his game on the New York City playgrounds Zaid Abdul-Aziz headed for Iowa State University. It was a match made in heaven; as he went onto break nearly every school record. The 2-time ISU All-American was selected 5th overall in the 1968 NBA draft. He went onto enjoy a long and successful professional career, playing 10 years in the NBA.

Zaid played with the Bucks, Rockets, Sonics, and Celtics. During his career Zaid posted 155 games with double figure points and rebounds. His best season came as a Sonic, ranks 6th all-time in Sonic’s history for rebounds per minute played. After converting to the Islamic faith in 1976, Zaid changed his name from then “Don Smith” to Zaid Abdul-Aziz.

After retiring from the NBA he worked several years for the State of Washington as a Chemical/Alcohol Dependency counselor.In 1998, Zaid was inducted into the Iowa State’s Basketball Hall of Fame. In February 2004, Abdul-Aziz’s #35 ISU jersey was retired up into the Hilton Coliseum rafters. Zaid and his family currently reside in the Greater Seattle area. Darkness to Sunlight was Zaid’s first book; it took him over 3 years to write. He has now become recognized as a national speaker