With the NBA season still suspended indefinitely, May is frivolity month here at Basketball Lists. We continue today with a look at players who underwent legal name changes during their active careers, either for legal reasons, family history, or just eccentricity.
1) Metta World Peace (Ron Artest)
Controversy was nothing new for Artest by the summer of 2011. He had already made headlines in his career for not just the Malice in the Palace, but also: halftime alcohol breaks, asking for a month off from the Pacers to promote his rap album, breaking Michael Jordan's ribs in a pick-up game, getting arrested for domestic violence, and eventually becoming an advocate for mental health awareness. It's no surprise then that the reaction was mostly muted bemusement when he formally announced a name change to Metta World Peace. It was probably not a coincidence that Artest, then with the Lakers, was about to appear on "Dancing with the Stars" and likely looking to drum up interest. His name change was initially delayed in court by unpaid parking tickets (he supposedly had no idea how to pay them) but by the start of the '11-'12 season, Lakers fans could purchase jerseys with World Peace emblazoned on the back. Metta was further explained as a Buddhist term for "loving kindness," while World Peace was apparently chosen because it would discourage fans from yelling at him on the court (according to the man himself, he wouldn't expect anyone to yell "I hate World Peace" from the crowd). Three years later, after signing with a Chinese team, World Peace announced he was changing his name again, to The Panda's Friend. This time it was never made official through legal means, and seemed to be just a ploy to sell copies of his new children's book.
2) Hakeem Olajuwon (Akeem Olajuwon)
It was just one letter, but it was a world of difference for Olajuwon and his mother. It came as a surprise to many fans and media members when the Rockets star announced late in the '90-'91 season that he would be legally changing his name from Akeem to Hakeem. What most Americans didn't realize was that Akeem was a misspelling, and Hakeem was his proper Arabic name, translating to "a wise man." Turns out that when Olajuwon first emigrated to the U.S. from his native Nigeria in 1981 to play basketball at the University of Houston, the school spelled it incorrectly in all his official documents and the mistake stuck. It was no big deal for Olajuwon himself (supposedly even some people back home in Nigeria made the same common spelling mistake) and he let it go for a decade, but his mother finally convinced him to correct the error in honor of his heritage. The name Akeem still lives on in most of his classic trading cards.
3) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor)
Just one day after he carried the Bucks to the NBA title, winning Finals MVP and cementing his status as the planet's greatest basketball player, Lew Alcindor called a press conference. He announced that he had converted to Islam from the Catholic tradition in which he was raised, was changing his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, specifically rejecting Alcindor because it was a slave name thrust upon his ancestors and he didn't feel comfortable with the name implying traditional American values. It was a lot for people in 1971 to take in, but the ever-defiant and thoughtful Abdul-Jabbar didn't seem to care either way. Most Bucks fans went along with it just fine, exchanging their Alcindor jerseys for Abdul-Jabbar ones and cheering on as the superstar repeated as scoring champ and MVP in '71-'72.
4) Mahdi Abdul-Rahman (Walt Hazzard)
5) Jamaal Abdul-Lateef (Keith Wilkes)
While Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's stardom insulated him in some ways from resentment, his friend and fellow UCLA alum Hazzard wasn't so lucky. An All-American in college and an All-Star in 1968 for the Sonics, Hazzard was a great player but his career was already on a downturn when he was convinced by Abdul-Jabbar (then still going by Alcindor) in 1970 to convert to the Muslim faith. Hazzard and his family joined the Hanafi movement, which was an offshoot of the Nation of Islam that rejected their violent rhetoric. He adopted the Muslim name Mahdi Abdul-Rahman in the same summer that Alcindor became Abdul-Jabbar. A member of the Hawks by then and more of a role player, Abdul-Rahman took the brunt of the Islamophobia backlash. One player changing their name could be written off as an aberration, but a second one joining him implied a trend that concerned the NBA owners and league office. It was especially controversial for a player in Atlanta, where "Dixie" was still played before games in lieu of the "Star Spangled Banner." Things didn't improve much for him in later stops in Buffalo, Golden State, and Seattle, and by 1974 Abdul-Rahman was out of the league at age 32. Though he never legally changed his name back, he did opt to refer to himself as Walt Hazzard again in his post-playing days, using it in his positions as a head coach at UCLA and a scout and later franchise ambassador for the Lakers before passing away in 2011. Perhaps taking a cue from Abdul-Rahman's difficulties, Keith Wilkes opted to retain his last name professionally when he converted to Islam in 1973. He did begin to adopt his new first name, Jamaal, but never fully committed to the last name of Abdul-Lateef. Another UCLA legend under John Wooden, Wilkes changed his name right after he was drafted by the Warriors. Though he never rose to Abdul-Jabbar's heights as a player, Wilkes undoubtedly benefitted from being a bigger star than Hazzard, as he won Rookie of the Year, was named to three All-Star teams, and earned three titles. Instead of Jamaal or Keith, many fans took to just calling him "Silk," a nickname he received in honor of his smooth jump shot.
6) Nenê (Maybyner Hilario)
From Pelé to Romário to Ronaldo, Brazilian soccer has a long tradition of star players being known by just one name. It was only appropriate that Nenê, the first Brazilian star of the NBA, would eventually follow suit. Born Maybyner Hilário in the city of São Carlos, he received the nickname Nenê as a child. It's the Brazilian Portuguese word for baby, and he was the youngest of several children in his family. Initially soccer-obsessed like most of his countrymen, Nenê turned to basketball in high school and eventually became the first Brazilian ever drafted in the NBA. He started his career with the Nuggets as Nenê Hilário, but after his rookie season announced that he had legally shortened it to just Nenê. While the NBA has had its fair share of guys being commonly referred to by just their first name, from Wilt to Kareem to Magic to Shaq to Kobe to LeBron, Nenê became the first player to make it a legality. No matter his name, it's certainly a household one now in his home country, as he represented the national team at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and holds the NBA career records for points, rebounds, steals, and blocks by a Brazilian-born player.
7) World B. Free (Lloyd Free)
With a dynamic style, an outsized personality, and a flair for the dramatic, Free was one of the most memorable stars of the late '70s and early '80s. His catchy name certainly helped, and that was true even before he changed it. Lloyd Bernard Free, or simply Lloyd B. Free, just rolled off the tongues of the Sixers and Clippers fans that cheered him on early in his career. He had picked up the nickname "All-World" on the playgrounds of Brooklyn as a kid (because "All-State" or "All-American" were just too modest in comparison) and early on in the '81-'82 season he decided to codify it, legally changing his name to World B. Free. Unfortunately for Free this coincided with a downturn in his career. After averaging a career high 30.2 points per game for the Clippers in '79-'80 and being named an All-Star, he struggled with injuries and poor shot selection for his remaining years with the Warriors, Cavaliers, and Rockets. This certainly didn't dampen enthusiasm in the minds of his fans, including Dick Vitale, who still calls his yearly honor for the best name in NCAA basketball the World B. Free Award.
8) Bison Dele (Scott Williams)
Born Scott Williams in 1969, he retained that name even after his mother divorced his father, Geno Williams (a touring member of The Platters), and remarried. But Williams did eventually change names at age 29, adopting Bison Dele to honor his Cherokee and African heritages. The decision came just as he was starting his final campaign in the NBA, playing for the Pistons in the strike-shortened '98-'99 season before surprisingly retiring and walking away from the last five years of a $50 million deal. Before his two seasons in Detroit, Dele had found mixed success with the Magic (who drafted him 10th overall in 1991), Nuggets, Clippers, and Bulls (with whom he won a championship ring in 1997). He was reportedly in discussions to reunite with Phil Jackson on the Lakers in 2002 when he departed on a boat trip that ended with Dele, his girlfriend, and the boat's captain all missing and presumed dead. The suspect was the boat's fourth passenger, Dele's brother Miles Dabord, who claimed he had killed only Dele and in self-defense, but soon after committed suicide while in police custody.
9) J.R. Sakuragi (J.R. Henderson)
We've seen several former NBA players, such as the now American-Israeli Amare Stoudemire, accept secondary citizenship while playing professionally in other countries, but Sakuragi is the first who went so far as to change his name to further assimilate into the local culture. He was born Milton Henderson, Jr. in Bakersfield, California, and his father, a high school basketball coach, took to calling him J.R. at a young age. After starring for his dad at East High, Henderson moved on to UCLA, where he was in the starting lineup as a freshman for the '94-'95 team that won the national title. He was eventually named 1st-Team All-Pac 10 twice, but fell to the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft and lasted just 30 games with the Grizzlies. He moved on to pro teams in France, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico before finally settling with the SeaHorses Mikawa of the Japanese National Basketball League. While establishing himself as one of the greatest basketball players in Japanese history over the span of nearly two decades, Henderson became J.R. Sakuragi as part of his Japanese naturalization process, matching the last name of the protagonist of "Slam Dunk," a popular Japanese Manga from the '90s about a high school basketball team. In addition to changing his name, Sakuragi also had to meet the requirements of learning to read and write in Japanese. The naturalization process was completed in 2007, and Sakuragi spent over a decade after that becoming a Japanese basketball legend.
10) Jeff Ayres (Jeff Pendergraph)
In the summer of 2013 the Spurs signed Jeff Pendergraph to a free agent contract but when the season started it was instead Jeff Ayres backing up Tim Duncan and Boris Diaw in the front court depth chart. To further complicate things, he was actually born Jeff Orcutt in 1987 in Ontario, California. Orcutt is the maiden name of his mother, who initially raised him alone and Jeff was not aware of the identity of his father. When his mother later married, he took on the surname of his new stepfather, Pendergraph. He eventually did connect with his biological father, just as he was blossoming into a star player for Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga. Though he was a second round pick and struggled early in his career with a major knee injury, Ayres lasted six seasons in the NBA, and won a title with the Spurs in 2014, in his first season playing as Ayres. His second name change came just as he and his wife were expecting their first child. With his relationship with his stepfather strained and his relationship with his biological father still blossoming, he decided to take on the surname of the latter, Ayres (pronounced A-ers). His father was no doubt elated by the news, and possibly the second most excited person was whoever was responsible for stitching Spurs jerseys, as Pendergraph was one of the longest names in the league and one of the most difficult to fit on a jersey.
11) Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson)
When numerous NFL players recently drew headlines for kneeling during the national anthem, many rightly pointed out that the controversy was nothing new. Two decades prior to Colin Kaepernick there was Abdul-Rauf, born Chris Jackson, refusing to stand for the pre-game national anthem during the '95-'96 season, opting instead to stretch on the floor. Just like Kaepernick's protest, Abdul-Rauf's initially went unnoticed, as many were instead concentrating on the Nuggets point guard having a career year in his sixth season. But eventually a reporter realized what was happening and asked Abdul-Rauf about it, and the star point guard responded that the anthem represented oppression and inequality and he refused to stand for that. It set off an immediate angry backlash, which was to be expected and was also nothing new for Abdul-Rauf. He converted to Islam during his rookie season with Denver, and a couple years later officially made his name change. Many fans were wary of the bold decision, but most let it go as Abdul-Rauf developed into one of the league's most exciting young point guards. But the anthem controversy was just too much for White America to handle and even though he eventually compromised with Commissioner David Stern and started to stand for the anthem with his head bowed in prayer, Abdul-Rauf's career immediately spiraled. Just like Kaepernick, he was soon all but blackballed from the league and eventually forced to pursue a career in Europe. Unlike some of his progenitors, Abdul-Rauf remained defiant, sticking to his political opinions and his adopted name, which he kept during his playing days in the Big 3 League.