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6h ago

Rodney Rogers, Wake Forest Icon and NBA Sixth Man, Dies at 54

His family says the death was from natural causes tied to the spinal cord injury he sustained in a 2008 ATV crash.

rodney rodgers
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PHILADELPHIA, : The Boston Celtics' Rodney Rogers (L) blocks the path of the Philadelphia 76ers' Derrick Coleman (R) in the 1st period of game 3 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs 28 April 2002 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, PA. AFP PHOTO/TOM MIHALEK (Photo credit should read TOM MIHALEK/AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Wake Forest said Rogers died Friday, Nov. 21, as the National Basketball Players Association shared the family’s statement clarifying the cause.
  • Rogers starred at Wake Forest as ACC Freshman of the Year in 1991 and ACC Player of the Year in 1993 before going No. 9 in the 1993 NBA Draft.
  • He played 12 NBA seasons with seven teams and earned the 2000 Sixth Man of the Year award with the Phoenix Suns, finishing with career averages of 10.9 points and 4.5 rebounds.
  • He was paralyzed from the shoulders down after a Nov. 28, 2008 dirt-bike/ATV accident in North Carolina, later creating the Rodney Rogers Foundation and receiving Wake Forest’s 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award.
  • Tributes from Wake Forest, the NBA, and former coaches and teammates praised his resilience, and the family listed survivors including his wife, Faye; daughters Roddreka and Rydiah; sons Rodney II and Devonte; his mother, Estelle Spencer; and Eric Hipilito, embraced as a son.