Former NBA forward and 1999-00 Sixth Man of the Year Rodney Rogers died on Friday at age 54, Wake Forest University announced.
Rogers, a Durham, North Carolina native, starred at Wake Forest from 1990 to 1993. He was named ACC Freshman of the Year in 1991, earned first-team All-ACC honors in 1992 and captured ACC Player of the Year in 1993, making him one of only seven players in conference history to claim both freshman and overall player honors. Over 89 collegiate games, the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 19.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 57.9% from the field and 34.9% from three-point range.
Selected ninth overall in the 1993 NBA Draft, Rogers played 12 seasons for seven franchises: the Nuggets, Clippers, Suns, Celtics, Hornets, and 76ers. He appeared in 866 regular-season games (347 starts) and posted career averages of 10.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal in 25.3 minutes per contest.
His most productive years came with Denver, Los Angeles and Phoenix. While with the Suns in 1999-00, Rogers captured the league’s Sixth Man award after contributing 13.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game on 48.6% shooting, including 43.9% from beyond the arc, across all 82 contests.
Rogers was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a 2008 accident. In a statement, his wife, Faye, said he died of natural causes linked to the spinal cord injury sustained 17 years earlier.
The NBA said on social media that it was “deeply saddened” by his passing and praised Rogers for his “extraordinary resilience, courage and generosity.”
Funeral arrangements were not immediately disclosed.
Source: Hoops Rumors
