Guy William Rodgers (September 1, 1935 – February 19, 2001) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. He spent twelve years (1958–1970) in the NBA, 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 in 2014.

Basketball career

Rodgers attended Northeast High School in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, graduating in 1954. He played collegiately at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

from 1955–1958 for Hall of Fame Coach

Harry Litwack Harold "Chief" Litwack (September 20, 1907 – August 7, 1999) was an American college basketball coach. He served as head basketball coach at Temple University from 1952 to 1973, compiling a record of 373–193. He was inducted into the Naismith B ...

. 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 The 1957 National Invitation Tournament was the 1957 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the 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 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 prese ...

inductees: Guy Rodgers Temple,

Elgin Baylor Elgin Gay Baylor ( ; September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lak ...

Seattle,

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

Kansas and

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson playe ...

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 prol ...

Pittsburgh. Rodgers was a territorial pick of the Philadelphia Warriors 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

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 The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, ...

. On March 14, 1963, Rodgers tied

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time NBA ...

'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 The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

to advance to the NBA Finals before losing the series to the Boston Celtics 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 The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

, joining Oscar Robertson in the backcourt. After the season in Cincinnati, Rodgers was selected by new

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

in the expansion draft and joined the Bucks for his two final seasons, playing alongside rookie

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

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

, and win their first

NBA Championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

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 Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and raised i ...

was close, but Guy was better. He made every play exciting", said basketball TV analyst

Jon McGlocklin Jon P. McGlocklin (born June 10, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Franklin, Indiana, McGlocklin spent over a decade in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after being drafted by the Cincinnati Royals in 19 ...

, who was a teammate of Rodgers.

Honors

* Rodgers was a 2014 inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. During ceremonies on August 8, 2014.

Earl Monroe Vernon Earl Monroe (born November 21, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for two teams, the Baltimore Bullets and the New York Knicks, during his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Both teams ...

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 The Liacouras Center is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose venue which opened in 1997 and was originally named "''The Apollo of Temple''". The arena was renamed in 2000 for Temple University President, Peter J. Liacouras. It is part of a $107 mill ...

. Teammate Hal Lear (#6),

Mark Macon Mark L. Macon (''born April 14, 1969'') is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He is the former head coach of Binghamton University and a current staff member at his alma mater, Temple University. Playing career Macon w ...

(#12) and Bill Mlkvy (#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