(Budd Bailey and Greg D. Tranter have written a book called "Buffalo Braves From A to Z," published by St. Johann Press. Early in the writing process, they wrote good-sized biographies of all 71 men who played a regular-season game for the Braves during their time in Buffalo from 1970 to 1978. Publishers weren't so enthusiastic about all of that material, so most (59) of the biographies were shortened to about 500 words. However, the authors hated to waste all of that material ... so they are presenting it here. It will appear three times a week. A bibliography is available upon request.)
The Buffalo Braves had big hopes when they acquired Walt Hazzard in 1971. They thought he could be the guard that could point the team in the direction of respectability. It didn’t work out well for both sides, perhaps in part because of – of all things – a name change.
Walter Raphael Hazzard Jr. (eventually Mahdi Abdul-Rahman) was born on April 15, 1942 in Wilmington, Delaware. He was one of three children to Walter Sr. (a Methodist minister) and Alexina Ayers Hazzard.
The family moved to Easton, Maryland, but eventually relocated to Philadelphia. Walt went to Overbrook High School, and he only needed to look at the school’s record book for inspiration. Wilt Chamberlain had caused an absolute sensation when he played there, receiving national attention for his amazing skills. Walt certainly became a star on his own merits during his time there. They still talk about those Panthers teams in Philadelphia. Overbrook went 89-3 during Hazzard’s three seasons on the varsity. He joined with future Philadelphia 76er Wally Jones to win the city title in 1959, and he was the city’s Player of the Year in 1960. "He was a fantastic player, great offensive player," said Freddie Stokes, a close friend of Hazzard and an eventual coach at Overbrook. "He had no weakness.”
And the teamwork between Hazzard and Jones that was displayed on the court was amazing. “Those two guys were something to see,” basketball great and Philadelphia native Earl Monroe said to Peter Vecsey of the New York Post. “But when I looked at them, what I admired most was how tight they were. And I continue to marvel at how very, very tight they remained till death did they part. Their relationship is one for the record books. They prospered ego-free in the same backcourt. They understood each other. … If they were in the same area, when you saw one, you were going to see the other in a blink.”
If Hazzard needed a little physical toughness to advance in the game, there was someone at Overbrook who could provide it. John Chaney later became a legendary college basketball coach at Temple, but back in the late 1950s he was a gym teacher at Overbrook. "He used to beat me up physically and cheat," Hazzard said. "But I still used to beat him, though, even when I was a young kid."
Hazzard finished his time at Overbrook, and was ready to take the next step. At that point, John Wooden was in the midst of his long run as a coach at UCLA, but no one was calling him “The Wizard of Westwood” quite yet. UCLA had some good teams in the 1950s, including two in 1955 and 1956 that might have won a national title had San Francisco (and Bill Russell) not been in the way. The Bruins had yet to establish a national reputation for excellence.
But ex-Bruin Willie Naulls had heard of Hazzard, and told Wooden he thought the Philadelphia guard was worth pursuing. Sight unseen, Wooden offered Hazzard a scholarship, and Walt took it. He had heard of the many UCLA African American graduates who had graduated from the university and gone on to accomplished lives. The offer had one catch: Hazzard didn’t have the grades to get into UCLA right away. Therefore, he had to enroll at Santa Monica Junior College, and he played AAU ball to keep his skills sharp.
Hazzard was ready to step in as a sophomore, and he helped the Bruins reach what eventually became known as the Final Four for the first time. UCLA lost its final two games there to finish fourth in the tournament, but it looked as if good times were ahead. The Bruins again won the conference title in 1962-63, thanks to the addition of Gail Goodrich and Keith Erickson. However, they lost to No. 4 Arizona State in the first round of the tournament. Hazzard earned All-American honors for his play that year.
“He was a point guard before there was such a position,” teammate Larry Gower said to author John Matthew Smith. “He got you the ball. He passed to a spot where you were supposed to be, not where you were. He made you think differently.”
That set the stage for the 1963-64 season. The Bruins didn’t have a starter over 6-foot-5, but the roster was filled with basketball players who could play together and run all day. Wooden often used a devastating zone press that led to huge runs that broke games open. UCLA finished the regular season 26-0, and then won four more games – including a 98-83 win over Duke in the final – to take its first national championship. Hazzard was selected as the tournament’s most outstanding player. The win started a dynasty; Wooden’s teams won nine more titles in 11 years after that.
The title capped a memorable year for Walt, who had a roommate who would be internationally known for his play in another sport – Arthur Ashe. Hazzard averaged more than 18 points per game, was again an All-American, and named the national player of the year. Hazzard finished his career with 1,401 points, setting a school record.
“Walt had a tremendous impact on UCLA from the moment he arrived,” Goodrich told the New York Post. “He set a standard of excellence for me and everyone who followed. I know we’ve seen a lot of pure passers in college — Magic, Rodgers, Cousy, Pistol Pete, Ernie DiGregorio — but he takes a back seat to no one. Walt had great vision, a flamboyant imagination and a mature understanding of the game. I really enjoyed playing with him. Coach Wooden told me what he expected the first day of practice. He told me to go without the ball, work off screens and when Walt got me the ball, do something with it. We perfectly complemented each other.”
Walt was part of the 1964 U.S. Olympic basketball team that summer, helping the Americans win the gold medal in Tokyo. The next step for Hazzard was the professional ranks, and the Los Angeles Lakers made sure he’d stay close to home. The NBA had a rule that allowed teams to take a player who lived within 50 miles of the home arena as a “territorial pick” before the rest of the draft took place. The procedure was designed to capitalize on a player’s personal popularity in the region. Several Hall of Famers, including Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson, were claimed this way. The rule was dropped in 1966.
Hazzard arrived at the Lakers’ training camp in 1964, and joined a team that had some talent. Jerry West and Elgin Baylor were legitimate superstars, and Rudy LaRusso and Dick Barnett were good starters. But Los Angeles needed some more depth, as it was coming off a disappointing 42-38 season. Hazzard was the Lakers’ fourth guard in his rookie season, averaging 4.2 points per game in 13.9 minutes. Los Angeles rebounded to a 49-31 season, and lost in the NBA Finals to Boston.
The Lakers cleared out some playing time for Hazzard in 1965, trading Barnett to the New York Knicks for Bob Boozer. The 6-foot-2 guard had his best year as a Laker, averaging 13.7 points per game in 27.5 minutes. Again, Los Angeles reached the finals, only to lose to Boston in seven games. By 1966, the Lakers were swimming in outstanding guards to play alongside of West. Hazzard was in that mix, but so were Goodrich and Archie Clark. The forecourt on the team didn’t match that group, so Los Angeles never had its five best players on the floor together. The Lakers struggled to 36-45 record, and quickly exited the playoffs.
Some of the logjam cleared up on May 1, 1967, thanks to the expansion draft. Seattle and San Diego were coming into the league that fall, and they had the chance to select 15 unprotected players. Hazzard was left available by the Lakers, and the SuperSonics snapped him up. Hazzard quickly took over the expansion team, and was its best player in Year One. He averaged 24.0 points per game in 33.7 minutes to lead the team in scoring. Walt also averaged 6.2 assists per game. The SuperSonics only finished 23-59 that season, but Hazzard was picked for the NBA All-Star Game.
You’d think that would be the start of a long relationship between Hazzard and Seattle, but it wasn’t. Seattle dealt the 25-year old to the Atlanta Hawks for Lenny Wilkens in an exchange of guards. Wilkens was coming off a year in which he finished second in the voting for Most Valuable Player in the NBA, and he was a future Hall of Famer. But he was also 30 years old. Hazzard should have been a building block for Seattle’s future, but was dealt away. It’s a very curious transaction in hindsight.
Hazzard played with such veterans as Zelmo Beaty, Bill Bridges, Lou Hudson and Joe Caldwell in Atlanta. His production fell to 11.2 points per game. The Hawks lost eight more games than they did in the previous season, and lost in the Western Conference finals in the playoffs. In 1969-70, Hazzard’s production improved to 15.3 points per game, but Atlanta again couldn’t get past Los Angeles in the semifinals of the postseason.
Then came an offseason move that changed everything for the Hawks. They had only averaged 5,210 per game in attendance in 1969-70, a drop from their total in their last year in St. Louis in 1966-67 (6,288). Atlanta was almost gleeful when guard Pete Maravich, one of the greatest showmen in basketball history, was available at the third pick of the 1970 NBA draft. Maravich moved right into the starting lineup next to Hazzard, while Hudson was moved to forward at times. That meant the Hawks had two guards who needed the ball to be effective. Meanwhile, the rest of the team didn’t have much depth, and Atlanta crashed to a 36-46 record and a first-round playoff loss.
The Hawks realized they only needed one starting point guard, and Hazzard wasn’t going to win that argument. They looked to Buffalo for help. The first-year Braves had a young player in Don May who had averaged 20.2 points per game. Hazzard figured to be the veteran point guard the Braves needed, while May could slide in at small forward in Atlanta. The deal was completed; Jerry Chambers came with Hazzard while Herm Gilliam left with May. The move was welcomed by Hazzard, who had noticed that the Hawks were still playing “Dixie” before games and thought the racial atmosphere was not welcoming to him.
Walt joined a team that had only won 22 games in its initial season of 1970-71. The Braves had added a talented center in Elmore Smith and an athletic if unpolished talent in Randy Smith in the draft. The Braves hoped that Hazzard could supply some direction. However, the franchise received a surprise in training camp that season that set Walt’s career and life on a different and turbulent course.
That transformation started in 1970. Former UCLA center Lew Alcindor had started to explore Islam as a possible personal faith, and Hazzard heard about that search from him. Both men adopted the Muslim religion along the way. Alcindor waited to go public to disclose that fact, and announced after the playoffs in 1971 that he was taking the name of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Hazzard’s new name wasn’t announced immediately either.
“That was a big deal,” said Walt’s wife Jaleesa. “We were no longer Hazzards. So as you can imagine for my father in-law, and for his family, this is huge. He was like, ‘You’re a Hazzard, and now you’re not?’ ” Jaleesa Hazzard said to Mark J. Spears of ESPN’s “The Undefeated.”
Then in the fall training camp, Hazzard told the Braves’ public relations director that he wanted to hold a news conference, which was an unusual move for an individual player to take. The media gathered, and Hazzard announced he had changed his name to Mahdi Abdul-Rahman. (Oddly, official Braves publications only referred to him as “Abdul Rahman” that season.)
“When he changed his name, that was a big deal back then. It was wild,” NBA star Spencer Haywood said to ESPN. “You had two players that changed their name to Islamic [ones]. Most people didn’t equate them as Muslims from a world perspective. They were looking at them as black Muslims with hate rhetoric, but they were about self-awareness black Muslims. It was confusing.”
The Braves’ season got off to a rocky start, as coach Dolph Schayes was fired after the team suffered a blowout loss in the first game of the season. Buffalo went on to a second straight 22-60 record. Abdul-Rahman was third on the team in scoring and first in assists. His season high in points came on October 15, with 35 points against Cleveland. Meanwhile, we can only guess about how Buffalo treated Abdul-Rahman.
“In Buffalo, it was an issue, and you could tell,” Jaleesa Hazzard said to ESPN. “There were people who didn’t like him. You could tell that the league was concerned about it a little bit. ‘Is this some kind of a movement? What’s happening here? Are we hurting the brand because, again, this was an expansion city?’ You’re trying to grow your audience. You’re trying to make sure that he’s a star. I thought there were questions from [fans]. You could hear comments like, ‘Why did he change his name?’ You could hear people discussing it.”
The Braves hired Jack Ramsey in the summer of 1972 to coach the team. When the season began, Abdul-Rahman was at the end of the bench. Sometimes he barely played, sometimes he didn’t play at all. The guard’s scoring average dropped under six points per game in limited minutes. He was waived on November 9, 1972, at the age of 30.
“It always has been my intention to get down to a 10-man squad,” Ramsay said about the 3-10 Braves. “And with the lack of substantial success we have had, I thought we had better go with our young players.”
The Golden State Warriors signed Abdul-Rahman as a free agent, and used him as something of a fourth guard for the rest of the season. On July 25, 1973, the Warriors traded him to Seattle for guard Butch Beard. Again, he was one of the last players on the bench to be used, averaging less than 12 minutes per game. That was Abdul-Rahman’s last stop as a player. He did turn up at the Detroit Pistons’ training camp that fall, but left before the season started.
Abdul-Rahman made the decision to use his old name in professional situations when he started coaching in college. He thought the switch had limited his career opportunities. He worked at Compton Community College and Chapman College in the early 1980s. Then Hazzard was named the head coach at UCLA. He stayed for four seasons, winning one Pac-10 title in 1986-87. But he was fired after a 16-14 season in 1987-88. From there, Hazzard took a job in the front office of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Hazzard had a stroke in 1996, and his health never completely recovered. He died in 2011 after complications from heart surgery. Later on, son Rasheed paid $800 to a collector for a game-used jersey of his father’s from his season at Golden State.
“That jersey is my prized possession at this point. I love anything that can connect me to him and make me feel like he’s there,” he said to ESPN. “It was just something not only for me, I felt like I had to have it for my family, especially for my nephews, my nieces who didn’t meet him or didn’t get to know him like that … That jersey has to be in our family."
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