The 2000 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, Rodney Rogers, died at the age of 54 from natural causes related to a spinal injury he suffered in a 2008 accident.
The NBA website said Monday that the former Wake Forest star and 12-season NBA player is survived by his wife, four children and an adopted son.
"The last seventeen years have been a challenging yet incredibly blessed time, with Rodney remaining a beacon of light, a positive inspiration, and a resilient spirit that inspired everyone around him," the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) wrote on behalf of the family.
Rogers was previously the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Year in 1991 and the ACC Player of the Year in 1993. Wake Forest University retired his number 54.
During his NBA career, he scored nearly 9,500 points and won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2000, while playing for the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Phoenix Suns.
