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, 1957 National Invitation Tournament and the 1958 NCAA Basketball Tournament. He became the school's leading career scorer with 1,767 points. 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 Pittsburgh. Rodgers was a territorial pick of the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1958 NBA draft. 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 — a record that wasn't broken until nearly 15 years later. Rodgers was the point guard on the 1964 Warriors team that made the NBA finals but eventually lost the series to the Boston Celtics four games to one. After averaging 18.6 points and 10.7 assists in 1965-1966 Rogers was traded. On September 7, 1966, the Warriors traded Rodgers 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, which is still the Chicago Bulls single-season record. With four games played 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 for his two final seasons, playing alongside rookie Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Personal life
Rodgers died on February 19, 2001 at age 65 after a heart attack. Rodgers was survived by sons, Tony and Mark, and daughter, Nicole. "Without question Guy Rodgers was the best passer I ever played with or against," said basketball TV analyst Jon McGlocklin, who was a teammate of Rodgers'. "Pete Maravich was close, but Guy was better. He made every play exciting."
Honors
Rodgers was a 2014 inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. During ceremonies on August 8, 2014. Earl Monroe served as Rodgers' presenter. His son Tony, accepted on behalf of the Rodgers family.
