Tyreke Evans

Evans became just the fourth rookie in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists after Oscar Robertson (1960–61), Michael Jordan (1984–85), and LeBron James (2003–04).

Tyreke Jamir Evans (born September 19, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Broncos de Caracas of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB).

Evans was chosen to be the keeper of the Slam High School Diary for the 2008 season.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Evans was listed as the No. 3 point guard and the No. 6 player in the nation in 2008.

In April 2008, after also considering Villanova University and the University of Texas, Evans announced his commitment to the Memphis Tigers.

After playing small forward throughout high school, Evans initially struggled with his transition to shooting guard at Memphis.

But as soon as coach John Calipari had him start at the point guard position for the eleventh game of the season, Evans flourished in a 60–45 win over Cincinnati; he played 33 minutes and tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists, the latter two being season highs.

With Evans at the helm, Memphis would not lose another game until the NCAA tournament, falling to the Missouri Tigers.

Evans won Conference USA Rookie of the Week as many as eight times.

After playing college basketball for the Memphis Tigers, he was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings.

He was also the only freshman among the United States Basketball Writers Association's 2009 finalists for the National Player of the Year award that is named in honor of Oscar Robertson.

On March 31, 2009, Evans declared himself eligible for the 2009 NBA draft, opting to forgo his remaining three seasons of collegiate eligibility.

He was selected on June 25, 2009, by the Sacramento Kings with the fourth overall pick.

On December 1, 2009, Evans was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played from the beginning of the season through November.

Over that period, he put up averages of 18.8 points, 5 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.3 steals in 36.1 minutes per game.

Also notably, on December 21, he led the Kings back from a 35-point deficit to defeat the Chicago Bulls 102–98; by scoring 9 of the Kings' last 11 points, he single-handedly outscored the Bulls in the fourth quarter, with his 11 points besting the Bulls' 10 points scored.

Evans went on to win the 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

On January 4, 2010, Evans was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for the second month straight.

On February 12, Evans won the 2010 Rookie and Sophomore Game MVP award after recording 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals on 11-of-15 shooting.

In an act of sportsmanship, Evans opted to share the award with DeJuan Blair, who had put up 22 points and pulled down 23 rebounds.

In a victory over the Toronto Raptors on March 11, Evans recorded his first career triple-double with his 19 points to go along with 10 assists and as many rebounds.

On April 27, 2010, Evans was recognized for his accomplishments by being awarded the 2009–10 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

On December 29, 2010, O. J. Mayo hit an off-balance shot to put the Memphis Grizzlies up by one point with only seconds remaining in the game; with no timeouts left, DeMarcus Cousins inbounded the ball to Evans, who dribbled to half court and nailed a three-pointer to secure a two-point win for Sacramento.

Though it came in a loss to the Golden State Warriors, Evans tallied a then career-high 35 points to go along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals on January 21, 2011.

He later missed 19 regular season games on account of plantar fasciitis in his left foot and thus did not play in that year's NBA Rookie Challenge.

On November 24, 2011, Evans agreed to a deal to play for Virtus Roma in Italy during the NBA lockout; the deal had an NBA out-clause allowing him to return to the Sacramento Kings when the lockout ceased.

In December, he returned to the Kings after the 2011 NBA lockout had ended.

On January 28, 2012, he scored a season-high 31 points in a 96–93 loss to the Utah Jazz.

In 2012–13, Evans missed 16 out of 20 games between November 30 and January 5 due to a left knee injury.

He finished the season with averages of 15.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

He was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013 before being traded back to the Kings in 2017.

Evans was acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans on July 10, 2013, in a sign-and-trade deal involving three teams; the deal sent Robin Lopez to the Portland Trail Blazers and Greivis Vásquez to the Kings.

After successive stints with the Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers, Evans, who would have become a free agent at the end of the 2019 season, was dismissed and disqualified from the NBA in May for violating the terms of the league's anti-drug program, but was reinstated in February 2022.

Tyreke Evans was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he was chiefly raised by his three older brothers.

For high school, Evans attended American Christian Academy in Aston, Pennsylvania.

There, he quickly proved an impressive talent on the basketball court, and by his sophomore season, began drawing comparisons to no less than Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady.

In his senior campaign, he put up averages of 32.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 4.3 steals per game.

He was selected as the MVP of the McDonald's High School All-American Game and, together with Brandon Jennings, was named co-MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic.

He was also named to the first-team Parade All-American.

He was featured in the documentary Gunning for That #1 Spot directed by Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys when he was only sixteen years of age.