Rooks during his tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers. (Getty)
Sean Rooks has passed away at the age of 46. Marc Spears of The Undefeated was the first to break the news.
It saddens to report Sixers assistant coach & ex-NBA center Sean Rooks, 46, passed away in Philadelphia today, sources told @TheUndefeated.
Rooks was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers. But prior to that Rooks, a second round draft pick, was an NBA player for 12 years from 1992-2004. He played for 8 teams, scoring a total of 4,676 points, 6.2 points per game. He was an important roleplayer on several teams.
Rooks had an impressive college career at the University of Arizona, averaging 11.6 points per game and shooting a field goal percentage of .558. His Wildcats teams twice made the Sweet 16, but not further.
After getting drafted in Dallas, his rookie season he scored 13.5 points per game and 11 blocks per game, each a career high. He reached his career high in minutes per game in his third season, playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves and averaging over 30 minutes a game.
He bounced around for years after that as a veteran roleplayer, spending part of a season in Atlanta, 3 seasons with the Lakers, 3 seasons with the Clippers after a return season in Dallas, and a final season split between New Orleans and Orlando before retiring.
Below is one of Rooks’ career highlights, a pitch-perfect pass to Lamar Odom during his time with the Clippers. RIP Sean Rooks.