Paul Rogers (basketball)

This article is about the Australian basketballer Paul Rogers. For other uses, see Paul Rogers (disambiguation).

Paul Rogers
Position	Centre
Nickname	PR
Height	213 cm (7 ft 0 in)
Weight	118 kg (260 lb)
Nationality	Australia
Born	29 September 1973 (1973-09-29) Adelaide, South Australia
College/University	Gonzaga University
Debut	1992
Final Game	2009
Previous Clubs	Adelaide 36ers 1992-1993, 2002-2003 Perth Wildcats 1999-2002, 2006-2010 Casademont Girona (Liga ACB) 2003-2005 Real Madrid (Liga ACB) 2005-2006
Championships	2000, 2010
Career Highlights	NBL MVP 2000 All NBL First Team 2000, 2002 All NBL Second Team 1999, 2001 All NBL Third Team 2007-08 Olympic Squad Member 2000, 2004

Paul Andrew Rogers (born 29 September 1973 in Adelaide, South Australia) is a retired Australian basketball player who played in the National Basketball League. He was also drafted to the NBA in the 1997 draft by the Los Angeles Lakers but never played an NBA game.

Professional career

Rogers, a 7'0" (213 cm) tall centre, started his NBL career with the Adelaide 36ers in 1992 at the age of 18 where he was back up to Aussie Boomers centre Mark Bradtke. His first two seasons in the league saw Rogers play just 10 games for the 36ers averaging just 1.4 points per game.

Following a four year stint playing college basketball in the United States at Gonzaga University, Rogers was lured home to Australia in 1999 to play for the Perth Wildcats. The move would prove fruitful as the Wildcats would win the 2000 NBL Championship defeating the Victoria Titans 2 games to nil in the grand final series. Rogers all-round play was rewarded in 2000 as he was voted the NBL's Most Valuable Player. He also won the first of two selections to the All NBL First Team in 2000.

He continued to play for the Wildcats until the end of the 2001-02 NBL season, following which he signed to return home to the Adelaide 36ers who would be defending NBL champions. The season was a disappointing one for the defending champs as they were eliminated in the leagues elimination finals. Rogers season was interrupted by injury and he only appeared in 9 games, averaging 11 points per game compared to his 30 games and 19 point average the previous season in Perth.

Following his disappointing 2002-03 NBL season, Rogers moved to play in Spain for Casademont Girona from 2003–2005 and then Real Madrid in 2006 in the Spanish Liga ACB.

Rogers was again re-signed by the Perth Wildcats for the 2005-06 NBL season and would remain with the club until his retirement following the 2009-10 NBL season, during which time he was selected to the All NBL Third Team in 2007-08. he was also named captain of the team from the 2006-07 NBL season.

Just two games into the 2009-10 NBL season, Rogers injured his elbow and was expected to miss up to 14 weeks of the season. Following the Wilcats win in the NBL grand final series over the Wollongong Hawks, and after 214 NBL games, he announced his retirement from professional basketball.

International career

Rogers played for the Australian Boomers at both the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympic Games, and once at the FIBA World Championship in 1998.

College

Following the 1993 NBL season, Rogers was recruited to play U.S. college basketball at Gonzaga University, notably playing on the Bulldogs first-ever NCAA tournament team in 1995.

NBA

After his stint at Gonzaga university, Rogers nominated for the 1997 NBA Draft where he was selected as the 25th pick in the 2nd round by the Los Angeles Lakers. He was then traded by the Lakers to the Toronto Raptors but never played an NBA game.