101 Greats of European Basketball

with Partizan in 1992; with Dejan Bodiroga in our duels
in Italy; with Oded Kattash and Michael Koch in several
European duels,” Rogers said. “It was a great group of
people, people who spoke several languages but understood
each other perfectly. Friendships were born
in that team that last to this day. Also, we fulfilled the
dream of the Greens as we won the crown in Thessaloniki
against Maccabi 73-67.”
It was April 20, 2000, the last chance to win a continental
crown in the 20th century – and Rogers took it at
36 years old. He played 27 minutes, scored 4 points and
grabbed 2 boards. Just what Obradovic expected from
him. The following year, in the season of the two Euro-
Leagues, due to the conflict between FIBA and ULEB.
The only three powerful teams who chose FIBA over
ULEB were Panathinaikos, Maccabi and CSKA Moscow,
even though the Russian champ was not as powerful
in those days as it has been since. The three of them,
together with Efes Pilsen, reached the SuproLeague
Final Four in Paris, where Maccabi, led by Nate Huffman
and his 21 points, got revenge over Panathinaikos for
the previous year’s loss despite 27 points by Bodiroga.
Maccabi won 81-67.
For the 2001-02 season, all the best teams in Europe
got together again to play a single competition, the
EuroLeague. The Final Four that year – the first for the
new EuroLeague after a playoff series that Kinder Bologna
won over Tau Ceramica 3-2 decided the previous
year’s title – would be played in Bologna. Panathinaikos
reached the Final Four, but it wasn’t the favorite for the
title. Not even close. Things changed after its unexpected
83-75 win over Maccabi in the semifinal. However,
Kinder was waiting in the title game. The home team
was coached by Ettore Messina and had several stars.
It is true that many of its best players were still very
young – like Manu Ginobili, Marko Jaric and Matjaz Smodis
– but one could see a bright future for all of them.
The game started badly for Panathinaikos and at
halftime, Kinder was winning 48-40. But in the second
half, several Panathinaikos players took their turns
starring for the team. Young center Lazaros Papadopoulos
had 12 points, veteran Rogers added 7, and the
full orchestra was conducted by Ibrahim Kutluay with
22 points and Bodiroga, with 21. In the end, the Greens
won by the score of 89-83. Rogers, at 38 years old, was
European champ for the second time. The Greens also
won the Greek League, his first national league title.
It was a perfect time to retire, but Rogers still relished
more battles. He signed for Lleida, where he did
more than well in the Spanish League and the ULEB Cup
for two years. When he retired in 2004, he left behind
267 Spanish league games, averaging 16.6 points, 5.8
rebounds and an index rating of 15.6. His accuracy from
the arc was impressive, at 42%. He also made 56% of his
two-pointers and 85% of his free throws – no bad for a
2.08-meter big man. In the Italian League he played 113
games with averages of 20.2 points and 7.5 rebounds.
At Olympiacos, with whom he had reached another
Final Four in 1999, his averages were 15.5 points and
8.6 boards. At Panathinaikos, in his late 30s, he was
still able to score 10.0 points and pull down almost 4
rebounds per game
Johnny Rogers was a great player, but all of those
who know him would tell you he is an even better person,
a great teammate and a true friend in every situation,
a champion in every sense of the word.
101 greats of european basketball
Johnny Rogers
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