{
  "id": 1387635,
  "title": "Houston Rockets jersey history No.27 - Zaid Abdul-Aziz (1978)",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/houston-rockets-jersey-history-no-27-zaid-abdul-aziz-1978",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-17T01:00:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/houston-rockets-jersey-history-no-010024242.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Houston Rockets have fielded players wearing 52 different jersey numbers throughout their history, with one exception - a number reserved for assistant coach and general manager Carroll Dawson. To pay tribute to the players who donned those jerseys, Rockets Wire is presenting a series chronicling the entire history of Rockets jersey numbers and the players who wore them. In this installment, we revisit the third of eight players who once donned the No. 27 jersey - Zaid Abdul-Aziz, a big man. Abdul-Aziz's professional journey began after his college career at Iowa State, where he was selected fifth overall in the 1968 NBA Draft by the then-Cincinnati Royals, now known as the Sacramento Kings. Playing the first 20 games of his pro career with the Royals, Abdul-Aziz then ventured to play for the Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle SuperSonics, Buffalo Braves (now Boston Celtics), and the Celtics before signing with Houston for his final season. During his tenure with the Rockets, Abdul-Aziz wore jersey numbers 6, 27, and 35, recording an average of 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. These statistics were sourced from Basketball Reference.",
  "summary": "During his time with 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.",
  "key_points": [
    "Zaid Abdul-Aziz wore No. 27 for Houston Rockets in 1978",
    "Played college basketball at Iowa State before NBA draft",
    "Averaged 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds per game in Rockets stint"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The inclusion of Zaid Abdul-Aziz in the Rockets' jersey history highlights the complexity of player-team relationships, as Abdul-Aziz wore multiple jersey numbers during his final season with the team.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}