Guy William Rodgers Jr. (September 1, 1935 – February 19, 2001) was an American professional basketball player born in Philadelphia. 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.
Rodgers was born on September 1, 1935, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Northeast High School in Philadelphia, graduating in 1954. He played on the school's basketball team, under coach Ike Wooley, who had played at Temple University in the late 1920s with Harry Litwack. Rodgers played center in high school. He averaged nearly 35 points a game as a senior. Rodgers was also known as an excellent ball-handler. As a high school senior, he was named Philadelphia's Player of the Year (over sophomore Wilt Chamberlain).
In 1953, Rodgers's Northeast team lost to Chamberlain's Overbrook High School in the 1953 Philadelphia Public League championship game. Chamberlain scored 34 points, and Rodgers scored 26 in an excellent all-around performance in playmaking and defense as well as scoring. All of Northeast's starting five players fouled out of the game trying to defend Chamberlain.
Rodgers thought about attending Seton Hall University and playing under coach Honey Russell, but his mother had died and coach Wooley believed it would be better for Rodgers, his father and sister for Rodgers to stay in Philadelphia. Rodgers took the advice and remained in Philadelphia, playing collegiately for Temple University's varsity basketball team from 1955 to 1958 under Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach Harry Litwack. (Freshmen could not play on the varsity at the time.) Rodgers admired Litwack's qualities as a human being, and Litwack had a great impact on his life; including applying Litwack's business advice to his life after Rodgers's basketball career ended.
Rodgers was only 6 ft (1.83 m), but he was very strong, including in his legs. He came into Temple with excellent dribbling, passing and playmaking skills, with which Litwack did not tamper. Litwack saw Rodgers's only weakness as the lack of an outside shot. During Rodgers's sophomore season (1955–56), he teamed in the backcourt with fellow Philadelphian, senior Hal Lear (who had attended Overbrook High School like Chamberlain, and had played with Rodgers on Philadelphia's public basketball courts).
Lear averaged 24 points per game, and Rodgers 18.5 points per game. The Lear-Rodgers backcourt is considered among the best, or the best, in Philadelphia college basketball history. Philadelphia basketball figure Sonny Hill had stated they should be considered among the greatest in all of college basketball. College basketball coach and commentator Dick Vitale described the pair as magical together.
Over his three years, 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 was named to the 1958 All-Tournament Team. In the 1958 tournament, Temple lost to eventual champion Kentucky, 61–60, in a Final Four game played in Louisville, Kentucky. Just two seasons earlier, Rodgers and Lear's Temple team had shocked Kentucky by defeating Kentucky in its home opener, while being subjected to racial taunts over Temple's black and white players sharing the same water and towels. Rodgers believed that Temple would have won the 1958 game had it been played anywhere else. Temple was ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press's (AP) final poll in 1958.
Rodgers averaged 20.4 points, 6.4 assists and 7 rebounds a game as a junior (1956–57), and 20.1 points, 5.2 assists and 6.6 rebounds as a senior (1957–58). 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 (through the 2024–25 season). He was one of the first players to pass off the dribble. He was known for rarely making a turnover. Playing with Rodgers, Lear observed Rodgers's rare ability to run and dribble, see the whole court, and pass.
Rodgers was a second-team consensus All-American as a junior in 1956–57, and a first-team consensus All-American in 1957–58 as a senior. The Associated Press named Rodgers a third-team All-American in 1956–57, and a first-team All-American in 1957–58. That 1958 AP team consisted of four Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductees: Rodgers at Temple, Elgin Baylor of Seattle University, fellow Philadelphia native Chamberlain of the University of Kansas, and Oscar Robertson of the University of Cincinnati. The other was Don Hennon of the University of Pittsburgh.
In Philadelphia college sports, he was the three-time winner of the Robert V. Geasey Trophy for Big Five Most Valuable Player (1956–58).
Rodgers' renown in the NBA came as a passer. From the 1952-53 through the 1966–67 seasons, only Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson and Rodgers led the NBA in assists; and Rodgers finished second to them six times. He was an all-around player, who was an excellent defender, and is among less than ten players in NBA history who have averaged at least 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds over an entire career.
Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors
Rodgers was a territorial pick of the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1958 NBA draft. He was 6 ft (1.83 m), 185 pounds (83.9 kg). As a rookie, he played alongside two other Philadelphia territorial picks, future Hall of Famers Paul Arizin and Tom Gola. Rodgers started at point guard, averaging 10.7 points, 5.8 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game.
The Warriors had selected Chamberlain in an amended version of the territorial draft in 1955, when he was still in high school. Chamberlain joined the Warriors for the 1959–60 season. Rodgers averaged 11.6 points, 7.1 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game. He was second in assists in the NBA, behind only Boston Celtics' Hall of Fame guard Bob Cousy. Chamberlain was named Rookie of the Year and the NBA's Most Valuable Player, averaging 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game. The Warriors' record went from 32 to 40 in 1958–59 to 49–26, and they reached the Eastern Division Finals of the playoffs; losing to the Boston Celtics two games to four. Rodgers averaged 12.3 points, 6.7 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game against the Celtics. In the Game 6 loss to end the Celtics series, Rodgers had 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists; with the Celtics winning 119–117 on a last second tip-in by Tommy Heinsohn.
The following season (1960–61), Rodgers averaged 8.7 assists per game, second in the NBA behind future Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson. He also averaged 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. In 1961–62, Rodgers averaged eight assists per game, with Hall of Famer Al Attles sharing some point guard duties. Rodgers was again second in the NBA in assists behind Robertson. On March 2, 1962, Chamberlain famously had a 100-point game, with Rodgers recording 20 assists. The Warriors lost again to the Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals, three games to four; Rodgers averaging 13.6 points, 7.6 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game over the seven-game series.
After three years as second in assists league-wide, Rodgers led the NBA in assists in the 1962–63 season at 10.4 per game; almost a full assist above second place Robertson (9.5). He was named an All-Star for the first time. In an October 26, 1962 game against the Detroit Pistons, the 6 ft tall Rodgers had 23 points, 20 rebounds and 17 assists (with Chamberlain scoring 50 points). On March 14, 1963, Rodgers tied Bob Cousy's NBA record of 28 assists in a single game. This remained a league record until 1978, when broken by Kevin Porter with 29. In 1963–64, he was again named an All-Star, averaging seven assists per game; once more second only to Robertson in assists.
The Warriors had moved from Philadelphia to San Francisco a year earlier, and were now in the Western Division. They defeated the St. Louis Hawks in the 1964 Western Division Finals (4–3). Rodgers averaged 13.3 points, 8.3 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game in that series. The Warriors lost in five game to the Celtics in the 1964 NBA finals, Rodgers averaging 10.8 points and 6.4 assists per game in that series.