Former NBA star Rodney Rogers has died at the age of 54
Basketball star Rodney Rogers
He died at the age of 54…
College star, Sixth Man of the Year
Published
Rodney Rogers — a basketball star who starred in college and went on to have a fruitful career in the NBA — has died… Wake Forest University announced that his alma mater.
The WFU Athletic Department released a statement from Rodney’s wife, fiSaturday morning… Rogers reportedly passed away peacefully on Friday surrounded by his loved ones.
Faye recalls that Rodney rose above adversity — he was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a 2008 ATV accident — and remained upbeat and cheerful despite all the challenges he faced. Fay did not reveal the cause of death.
Rogers rose to prominence during his tenure at Wake Forest… making an immediate impact as the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year during the 1990-91 season – an award for which he won the future Basketball Hall of Famer Grant Hill.
In the 1992-93 season, Rogers again averaged over 21 points and 7 rebounds on his way to winning ACC Player of the Year…which led to the Denver Nuggets selecting him with the ninth overall pick.
Rogers spent the next 12 seasons in the NBA…playing for the Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, and Philadelphia 76ers. Rogers won Sixth Man of the Year honors with the Suns from 1999-2000 and retired in 2005.
As we mentioned… In 2008, Rogers was involved in an ATV crash near Raleigh, North Carolina. He drove his car into a ditch and flipped the handlebars. He was rushed to a local hospital, then airlifted to a treatment center in Atlanta, which specializes in spinal and brain injuries.
Rogers never walked again, but that didn’t stop him from making an impact on his community. He helped found the Rodney Rogers Foundation through which he encouraged others with spinal injuries…and is remembered by his many friends and family as a positive influence on many lives.
Rodney is survived by his wife Faye – whom he married in 2010 – and his daughters Roderica and Rydiahis sons Rodney II and Devonte Rogers, Eric Habilito …which Faye says he “embraced like a son” …and his mother, Estelle.
Rodney was 54 years old.
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