Former NBA player and college basketball star Rodney Rogers has died aged 54. Rogers, a Wake Forest legend who entered the NBA Draft in 1993 and went on to play for 13 seasons with seven different teams, died on Friday, his alma mater announced.
He is survived by his wife, Faye, daughter Roddreka, who serves as an assistant coach with Georgia State women’s basketball, son, Rodney Rogers II, and his daughter, Rydeiah. Drafted ninth overall by the Denver Nuggets, Rogers spent three seasons with the team before moving around the league, playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers.
Sudden Death
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Rogers retired from the NBA in 2005, ending his career with the Philadelphia 76ers. Three years later, he was involved in a devastating accident that left him paralyzed. He was riding a quad bike along a trail in rural Vance County, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, when he hit a ditch and was thrown over the handlebars.
The basketball star was left paralyzed from the shoulders down after the near-fatal accident.
Over the past 17 years, Rogers continued to inspire people through the Rodney Rogers Foundation, which supports people living with spinal injuries.
During his time at Wake Forest, Rogers — nicknamed the “Durham Bull” — became one of the most influential players in the school’s history, the university said Saturday. They described him as the driving force that helped turn Wake Forest into a powerhouse basketball program during the 1990s.
As a freshman, he led the Demon Deacons to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1984, earning ACC Freshman of the Year honors in 1991.
Star in His Own Right
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He went on to be named First Team All-ACC in both 1992 and 1993 and helped the team reach the NCAA Sweet 16. Rogers later earned ACC Player of the Year and First Team All-American honors.
He remains one of only seven players in ACC history to win both ACC Freshman of the Year and ACC Player of the Year.
In the NBA, Rogers averaged 11 points per game and won the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2000.
Wake Forest retired his No. 54 jersey, which still hangs in the rafters of the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and in 2022, the school honored him with its prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award.
“Wake Forest Athletics extends its deepest condolences to the Rogers family and all who were inspired by Rodney’s extraordinary life, career and spirit,” its statement ended.
