Rodgers, Four-Time NBA All-Star, Dies of Heart Attack

Guy Rodgers, a four-time NBA all-star, died Monday in Los Angeles, his girlfriend and a spokeswoman at Midway Hospital Medical Center said. He was 65.

Illeana Brothers, Rodgers’ girlfriend, said Rodgers died of a massive heart attack while being driven to the hospital by Brothers.

He had complained of chest pains while watching a movie with Brothers at a Westside movie theater, she said.

Thelma Osorio, a hospital spokeswoman, confirmed only that Rodgers died at 5:26 p.m.

Rodgers was a two-time All-American at Temple who led the Owls to third-place finishes in the NCAA tournament in 1956 and 1958 and the NIT in 1957. He twice led the NBA in assists and was an original member of the Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks.

A 6-foot guard, Rodgers was a teammate of Wilt Chamberlain for five-plus seasons with the Philadelphia and San Francisco Warriors and played his last season, 1969-70, as a teammate of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Milwaukee.

He averaged 11.7 points, 7.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds during his career, enjoying his best season with the expansion Bulls in 1966-67, when he averaged 18 points and a league-high 11.2 assists.

In 1964, Rodgers helped the San Francisco Warriors reach the NBA finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in five games.

Rodgers, a left-hander, is still the Warriors’ all-time assists leader.