Rodney Rogers, the powerful forward whose versatility made him a college basketball legend at Wake Forest and the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, has died. He was 54.
Rogers died Friday from natural causes related to complications from a spinal cord injury he suffered in 2008, according to a statement released Saturday by Wake Forest University on behalf of his wife, Faye Rogers.
“Rodney remained a light — positive, motivated and full of the quiet strength that inspired everyone around him,” Faye Rogers said in the statement.
A Durham, North Carolina native, Rogers played 12 seasons in the NBA, but his life was irrevocably altered on Thanksgiving weekend in 2008 when a dirt bike accident in rural North Carolina left him paralyzed from the shoulders down.
A ‘Durham Bull’ on the Court
Before his professional career, Rogers was a force of nature in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Standing 6-foot-7 with a linebacker’s build, he earned the nickname “The Durham Bull” for his combination of brute strength and surprising agility.
He burst onto the scene in 1991, winning ACC Rookie of the Year. By his junior season in 1993, he was the ACC Player of the Year and a First Team All-American, averaging 21.2 points and 7.4 rebounds while leading the Demon Deacons to the Sweet 16. His No. 54 jersey was retired by the university in 1996.
NBA Success
Selected ninth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1993 NBA Draft, Rogers became a pioneer for the modern “stretch four” position. He was a key member of the 1994 Nuggets team that became the first No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in NBA playoff history, upsetting the Seattle SuperSonics.
His best professional season came with the Phoenix Suns in 1999-2000, where he averaged 13.8 points off the bench and shot 43.9% from three-point range to win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. Over his career, he played for seven teams, including the Clippers, Celtics, Nets, Hornets, and 76ers, retiring in 2005 with career averages of 10.9 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Life After the Accident
Rogers’ retirement was cut short by the 2008 accident. While riding a dirt bike through a trail, he struck a ditch and flipped over the handlebars, suffering a severe spinal cord injury.
Despite a grim prognosis that left him with quadriplegia and a shortened life expectancy, Rogers became an advocate for spinal injury research. He founded the Rodney Rogers Foundation to assist others with similar injuries and remained a beloved figure in the basketball community.
“Rodney Rogers was not just a great basketball player; he was a symbol of resilience,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Saturday. “His courage in the face of unimaginable adversity taught us all what it truly means to be tough.”
Rogers is survived by his wife, Faye, and their children.
