The basketball world is currently gushing over New Orleans Pelicans all-everything player Anthony Davis as he is evolving into a top five NBA player right before our eyes. Davis is deserving of all of the headlines, but there is another player in New Orleans that is playing at a high level, and that player is Tyreke Evans. It seems like ages ago when Evans won the NBA rookie of the year award in the 2009-2010 season. Since then Evans took a step back as a player when comparing them to his rookie year. As a rookie, Evans was one of three other rookies in NBA history that averaged 20 ppg, 5 rebs, and 5 assists per game. The other three just so happen to be LeBron James, Oscar Robertson, and Michael Jordan.
Evans’ trajectory to become an elite player was very high. After winning the rookie of the year award– Evans struggled with playing on a consistent basis, and he was eventually took his talents to the then New Orleans Pelicans after fizzling out with the Sacramento Kings. After signing a big contract Evans wasn’t a hit in his first season in New Orleans, but he put up solid numbers as the team’s sixth man. Evans averaged 14.5 ppg, 4.7 rebs, and 5.0 assist per game. The numbers weren’t too shabby, but it was clear that Evans wasn’t the same player that he was when he took the league by storm. When coming to a new team where you are expected to be the third option it’s a tough pill to swallow after being “the man” prior to arriving to the new team.
I believe that Evans was accustomed to dominating the ball it was a huge adjustment to buy into a new team and system. On to this year, Evans has that extra pep in his step and the razzle dazzle that NBA fans have been missing for the past few seasons. Evans is embracing his role on the Pelicans, and he has become a great running mate to Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis. Evans is averaging a shade over 17 points per game, to go along with 5.3 rebs, and 5.8 assists. The rejuvenation of Tyreke Evans has been a sight to see. It’s rare to see the younger players buy in to a new system and take on a new role that doesn’t anoint them as a star. With Evans being only 25 years of age he is still more than capable of being an All-Star player, and if he doesn’t that’s perfectly fine. We are just happy to see that he has his mojo back,.
