Mahmoud Abdur-Rauf

Mahmoud Abdur-Rauf (born March 9, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. He was born Chris Jackson but changed his name upon his conversion to Islam. He attended Louisiana State University and was selected in the NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets in 1990. He played with Denver until 1995, and was a key player on that team, winning the most-improved player award in 1993. He also was one of the main scorers on that team. He would later go on to play for the Sacramento Kings and later the Vancouver Grizzlies.

Since retiring from basketball, he built a mosque in his home town of Gulfport, Mississippi, and became an imam.

He is perhaps best known for the controversy he created when he refused to stand for the Star Spangled Banner before games, claiming that it conflicted with his Islamic beliefs.