Guy William Rodgers (September 1, 1935 – February 19, 2001) was an American professional basketball player born in Philadelphia. He spent twelve years (1958–1970) in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, and was one of the league's best playmakers in the early to mid-1960s. Rodgers led the NBA in assists twice, and placed second six times. Rodgers was inducted into

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

in 2014.

Basketball career

Rodgers attended Northeast High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1954. He played collegiately at Temple University from 1955–1958 for Hall of Fame Coach Harry Litwack. Rodgers led Temple to a 74-16 record and third-place finishes in the

1956 NCAA basketball tournament The 1956 NCAA basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA college basketball. It began on March 12, 1956, and ended with the championship game on March 24 on North ...

, 1957 National Invitation Tournament and the 1958 NCAA basketball tournament. He became the school's leading career scorer with 1,767 points (19.6 points per game). Rodgers remains the third leading scorer in Temple history The 1958 AP First Team All-American team consisted of four Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductees: Guy Rodgers Temple, Elgin Baylor Seattle, Wilt Chamberlain Kansas and Oscar Robertson Cincinnati. The other was

Don Hennon Don Leroy Hennon (born November 8, 1937) is an American surgeon and a former basketball player for the University of Pittsburgh Panthers basketball team, where he was a two-time Consensus All-American. A tall guard, Hennon was noted for his pr ...

Pittsburgh. Rodgers was a territorial pick of the

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...

in the

1958 NBA draft The 1958 NBA draft was the 12th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 22, 1958, before the 1958–59 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball play ...

. Rodgers played alongside the great Wilt Chamberlain with the Warriors from 1959 through 1964. During Chamberlain's famous 100-point game, Rodgers had 20 assists. In the 1962–63 season, Rodgers led the NBA in assists with 10.4 per game, playing in his first NBA All-Star game. On March 14, 1963, Rodgers tied Bob Cousy's record of 28 assists in a single game. Rodgers excelled the following season as well, and was named to his second consecutive All-Star game alongside Chamberlain. The 1964 Warriors team was dominant in the regular season, and defeated the St. Louis Hawks to advance to the NBA Finals before losing the series to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

4-1. After averaging 18.6 points and 10.7 assists in 1965-1966 Rogers was traded on September 7, 1966, to the expansion Chicago Bulls for Jim King, Jeff Mullins and cash. Rodgers played the 1966–67 season in Chicago and was named an NBA All-Star for the fourth and final time in his career. That same season, Rodgers averaged 18.0 points and handed out a then-NBA record 908 assists (11.2), which is still the Chicago Bulls single-season record. After four games in the 1967–68 season, Rodgers was traded to the Cincinnati Royals, joining Oscar Robertson in the backcourt. After the season in Cincinnati, Rodgers was selected by new Milwaukee Bucks in the expansion draft and joined the

Bucks Bucks may refer to: Places * Buckinghamshire, England, abbreviated Bucks * Bucks, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community * Bucks, Illinois, United States, an unincorporated community * Bucks, Michigan, an unincorporated community ...

for his two final seasons, playing alongside rookie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and helping the Bucks to their first playoff birth and first playoff series victory during the 1970 NBA playoffs. The following season, after Rodgers retired, the Bucks would acquire his former teammate Oscar Robertson, and win their first NBA Championship.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Rodgers died on February 19, 2001 at age 65 after a heart attack. He was survived by sons Tony and Mark and daughter Nicole. "Without question Guy Rodgers was the best passer I ever played with or against. Pete Maravich was close, but Guy was better. He made every play exciting", said basketball TV analyst Jon McGlocklin, who was a teammate of Rodgers.

Honors

* Rodgers was a 2014 inductee to the

. During ceremonies on August 8, 2014. Earl Monroe served as Rodgers' presenter. His son Tony, accepted on behalf of the Rodgers family. * Rodgers is one of four Temple retired jersey numbers. His #5 hangs in the Liacouras Center. Teammate

Hal Lear Harold C. Lear Jr. (January 31, 1935 – June 25, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. A guard born in Philadelphia, Lear starred at Temple University in his hometown during the 1950s. He earned the NCAA basketball tournament M ...

(#6), Mark Macon (#12) and

Bill Mlkvy William Paul Mlkvy (born January 19, 1931) is a retired American professional basketball player who spent his one-year career with the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors). Philadelphia selected Mlkvy with a territorial pick of t ...

(#20) are the others. * Rogers was inducted into the Temple Athletic Hall of Fame in 1971. * Rodgers was a charter member of the Philadelphia Big Five Hall of Fame in 1973. * The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame inducted Rogers in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Guy 1935 births 2001 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Chicago Bulls players Cincinnati Royals players Milwaukee Bucks expansion draft picks Milwaukee Bucks players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Philadelphia Warriors players Point guards San Francisco Warriors players Temple Owls men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia