Tyreke Evans

High school career

Evans grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania, and was mainly raised by his three older brothers. He attended American Christian Academy in Aston, Pennsylvania, and by his sophomore year began drawing comparisons to NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady. As a senior, he averaged 32.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 4.3 steals. He was named the MVP of the McDonald's High School All-American Game and co-MVP (with Brandon Jennings) of the Jordan Brand Classic. He was also a first-team Parade All-American. At the age of 16, he was featured in the documentary Gunning for That #1 Spot directed by Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys. Evans was chosen to be the keeper of the SLAM Magazine 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.

College career

In April 2008, Evans announced that he would attend the University of Memphis, after also considering Villanova University and the University of Texas.

Evans transitioned from playing small forward in high school to guard in college. He struggled at times at the beginning of his freshman season at the shooting guard position. This continued until coach John Calipari inserted him as the starting point guard in the 11th game of the season, a 60–45 win over the University of Cincinnati. In 33 minutes, Evans nearly put up a triple-double, with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. The Tigers would not lose another game until falling to the Missouri Tigers in the NCAA Tournament.

Evans was named the Conference USA Rookie of the Week eight times.

Evans was the only freshman finalist for the 2009 United States Basketball Writers Association's national player of the year award, named in honor of Oscar Robertson.

Sacramento Kings (2009–2013)

On March 31, 2009, Evans declared himself eligible for the 2009 NBA draft, deciding to forgo his remaining three seasons of collegiate eligibility. On June 25, 2009, he was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the fourth overall pick.

On December 1, 2009, Evans was named NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played from the beginning of the season through November. During that time, he averaged 18.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.3 steals in 36.1 minutes per game. On December 21, 2009, he was instrumental in leading the Kings back from a 35-point deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls, 102–98. Evans scored 9 of the Kings last 11 points, single-handedly outscoring the Bulls in the 4th quarter (11 points for Evans vs. 10 for the Bulls).

On January 4, 2010, Evans was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for the second straight month. On February 12, Evans won the 2010 Rookie/Sophomore Game MVP award after recording 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals on 11/15 shooting. In an act of sportsmanship, he chose to share the award with DeJuan Blair, who had scored 22 points and pulled down 23 rebounds. On March 11, 2010, Evans recorded his first career triple-double in a win against the Toronto Raptors, recording 19 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Evans became just the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in his rookie year, joining Oscar Robertson (1960–61), Michael Jordan (1984–85) and LeBron James (2003–04). 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, in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies, winning by one point with only seconds remaining, O. J. Mayo hit an off balance shot to put Memphis up by one. With no timeouts remaining, DeMarcus Cousins inbounded the ball to Evans, who then dribbled to the half court and nailed a three-pointer with time expiring, giving Sacramento a two-point win. On January 21, 2011, Evans scored a then career-high 35 points, along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. He later missed 19 games due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot and subsequently did not play in the 2011 NBA Rookie Challenge.

On November 24, 2011, Evans signed with Virtus Roma of Italy for the 2011–12 season; the contract included an NBA out-clause. In December 2011, he returned to Kings following the conclusion of the NBA lockout before playing in a game for Virtus. 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.

New Orleans Pelicans (2013–2017)

On July 10, 2013, Evans was acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans 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.

On December 30, 2013, Evans hit a game-winning shot with 1.2 seconds left in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers. On April 14, 2014, he scored a career-high 41 points in a 101–89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

On April 3, 2015, Evans recorded a near triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists in a 101–95 win over his former team the Sacramento Kings.

On December 1, 2015, Evans played his first game of the 2015–16 season after missing the Pelicans' first 17 games while recovering from right knee surgery. In 31 minutes as a starter, he recorded 20 points and 10 assists in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. On December 11, 2015, he scored 27 points and hit a career-high five three-pointers in a 105–103 win over the Washington Wizards. On February 11, 2016, he underwent another round of surgery on his right knee and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

On December 15, 2016, Evans played his first game for the Pelicans since January 25, 2016. He played 11 minutes in his return and had seven points, three rebounds and two assists in a 102–95 win over the Indiana Pacers. On January 12, 2017, he scored a season-high 29 points in a 104–95 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Return to Sacramento (2017)

On February 20, 2017, Evans was traded alongside Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway and 2017 first round and second round draft picks to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi. Three days later, in his first game for the Kings since 2013, Evans scored 15 points off the bench in a 116–100 win over the Denver Nuggets. On March 8, 2017, he scored a season-high 26 points in a 114–104 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Memphis Grizzlies (2017–present)

On July 10, 2017, Evans signed with the Memphis Grizzlies, on a one-year deal worth $3.3 million.