Reggie Evans
Reginald Evans | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 18, 1980 |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player (retired) |
| Years active | 2002–2015 (NBA), 2017–2018 (BIG3 League) |
| Known for | NBA power forward known for rebounding and defense |
Reginald Jamaal Evans (born May 18, 1980) is a retired American professional basketball athlete who most recently played in the Big3 League. As a power forward, Evans spent 13 seasons in the NBA with seven different franchises, earning recognition for his rebounding prowess, defensive intensity, and relentless effort.
College career
Evans began his collegiate basketball journey at Coffeyville Community College from 1998 to 2000 before transferring to the University of Iowa. In 2001, he led the entire nation in both free throw attempts and makes, as well as in double-doubles. Additionally, he topped the Big Ten Conference in rebounds and double-doubles during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. His accolades include being named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2001, securing a spot on the second-team All-Big Ten in 2002, and receiving an Honorable Mention All-American nod in 2001.
Seattle SuperSonics (2002–2006)
Evans joined the Seattle SuperSonics as a free agent in 2002 and rapidly established himself as a tenacious rebounder. During the 2004–05 season, he led the NBA in rebounds per minute played and ranked ninth overall in total rebounds despite averaging less than 24 minutes per contest. An ESPN study from 2005 revealed that Evans collected about one-quarter of all missed shots while on the floor; although this figure slightly decreased to 21.5% in 2006, it remained the highest rebound rate in the league, outperforming teammate Marcus Camby.
On December 6, 2005, Evans was absent at the start of the second half against the New York Knicks due to a delayed steroid test mandated at halftime. He firmly denied any wrongdoing, emphasizing his history of clean drug tests.
Evans’s most productive season was interrupted on January 3, 2006, when head coach Bob Weiss was replaced by assistant Bob Hill. Under Hill’s leadership, Evans lost his starting position and experienced a notable decrease in playing time.
Denver Nuggets (2006–2007)
Evans was traded to the Denver Nuggets on February 23, 2006. During his initial five games with the division-leading squad, he logged more minutes than he had in his last 21 outings with Seattle.
On March 10, 2006, facing the Toronto Raptors, Evans posted zero points but secured an impressive 20 rebounds, marking him as the first player since Dennis Rodman in 1997 to record twenty rebounds without scoring.
In a controversial moment during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Evans grabbed center Chris Kaman by the testicles to establish position. Kaman responded by pushing Evans down and later described feeling "violated" by the incident. Despite this, Kaman declined to file assault charges. Evans received a $10,000 fine and was assessed a flagrant foul-two penalty for his actions.
Philadelphia 76ers (2007–2009)
On September 10, 2007, Evans was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers along with draft rights to Ricky Sanchez, in exchange for Steven Hunter and Bobby Jones.
During the 2007–08 NBA season, Evans assumed the role of starting power forward for Philadelphia. He helped transform one of the league’s poorest rebounding teams into a unit ranked among the top fifteen. That season, he missed just one game and started more contests than during his two years with Denver. In game three of Philadelphia’s first-round playoff matchup against the Detroit Pistons, Evans contributed nine points and five rebounds en route to a victory amid enthusiastic fan support at the Wachovia Center.
Toronto Raptors (2009–2011)
Evans was traded to the Toronto Raptors on June 9, 2009, in exchange for Jason Kapono. Due to a foot injury, he was sidelined at the beginning of the season and made his first appearance on February 10, 2010. On November 24, 2010, Evans posted a career-best 22 rebounds along with 12 points during a 106–90 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Los Angeles Clippers (2011–2012)
On December 22, 2011, Evans inked a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers. Throughout 56 games, he averaged 1.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per contest, earning admiration from fans due to his tough and physical playing approach.
Brooklyn Nets (2012–2014)
Evans was traded to the Brooklyn Nets on July 11, 2012, as part of a sign-and-trade agreement. On November 21, he became the first NBA player to receive a fine for flopping following a defeat by the Los Angeles Lakers.
With starter Kris Humphries sidelined by injury, Evans stepped into a starting position and maintained that role thereafter. On March 27, he achieved personal bests with 22 points and 26 rebounds in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Two days later, despite a loss to the Denver Nuggets, he contributed 15 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. After receiving criticism from a teammate regarding his offensive output, Evans increased his aggressiveness on that end of the floor. During his debut season with the Nets, he appeared in 80 games with 56 starts and posted a career-high average of 11.1 rebounds per game.
Sacramento Kings (2014–2015)
On February 19, 2014, the Brooklyn Nets traded Evans along with guard Jason Terry to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for guard Marcus Thornton.
In the 2014–15 campaign, Evans saw limited playing time but notably stepped up when center DeMarcus Cousins was injured during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Coming off the bench for 35 minutes, he scored 17 points on efficient shooting (7-of-10) and collected 20 rebounds. Although he helped shrink Memphis' lead in the third quarter, Sacramento ultimately fell short with a final score of 97–85.
Evans' last NBA game took place on April 10, 2015—a 103–116 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder—where he recorded one rebound and one steal.
BIG3 Basketball
In 2017, Evans joined the BIG3 league as part of the Killer 3's, playing alongside former NBA veterans including coach Charles Oakley, as well as players like Chauncey Billups and Stephen Jackson. The following year, he switched to the 3 Headed Monsters, teaming with Rashard Lewis and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, under the guidance of coach Gary Payton.
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 67 || 60 || 20.4 || .471 || .000 || .519 || 6.6 || .5 || .6 || .2 || 3.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 75 || 27 || 17.1 || .406 || .000 || .561 || 5.4 || .4 || .7 || .1 || 2.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 79 || 79 || 23.8 || .476 || .000 || .534 || 9.3 || .7 || .7 || .2 || 4.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 41 || 23 || 19.2 || .509 || .000 || .550 || 6.7 || .6 || .6 || .1 || 5.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 26 || 2 || 23.3 || .453 || .000 || .505 || 8.7 || .6 || .6 || .2 || 5.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 66 || 11 || 17.1 || .544 || .000 || .497 || 7.0 || .7 || .6 || .2|| 4.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 81 || 61 || 23.2 || .439 || 1.000 || .467 || 7.5|| .8|| 1.1|| .1||5.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia |79||7||14.4||.444||.000||.594||4.6||.3||.5||.1||3.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto |28||1||11.1||.493||.000||.450||3.8||.3||.5||.1||3.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto |30||18||26.6||.408||.000||.545||11.5||1..3||1..0||.2||4..4 |-
|style="text-align:left;" | L.A.. Clippers |56|||0|||13..8|||..472|||..000|||..507|||4..8|||0..3|||0..6|||0..1|||1..9
|-
|style="text-align:left;" | Brooklyn |80|||56|||24..6|||..479|||0|||0|||11|||0|||0|||.2|||4..5
|-
|style="text-align:left;" | Brooklyn |30|||6|||13..3|||..390|||..000|||..538|||5..0|||..2|||..4|||..1|||2..7
|-
|style="text-align:left;" | Sacramento |24|||14|||20..8|||..527|||..000|||..569|||7..7|||..7|||1..0|||..0|||5..5
|-
|style="text-align:left;" | Sacramento |47|||7|||16..3|||..423|||..000|||.619|||6..4|||..7|||..5|||..1|||3..7
|- class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career |809||||372||||19..2||||465||||091||||528||||7..1||||6||||7||||1||||4..1
Playoff Performance
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2005 | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 11 || 11 || 18.9 || .405 || .000 || .524 || 7.4 || .5 || .5 || .3 || 3.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2006 | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 5 || 0 || 13.8 || .429 || .000 || .722 || 4.6 || .0 || .4 || .2 || 3.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2008 | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 6 || 0 || 24.7 || .500 || .000 || .625 || 7.8 || .5 || .8 || .0 || 6.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009 | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 5 || 0 || 7.2 || .222 || .000 || .750 || 2.0 || .0 || .6 || .0 || 1.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2012 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers | 11 || 0 || 18.0 || .533 || .000 || .425 || 7.3 || .1 || .8 || .5 || 3.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2013 | style="text-align:left;"| Brooklyn | 7 || 7 || 29.9 || .478 || .000 || .556 || 12.3 || .9 || 1.0 || .3 || 4.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Overall | 45 || 18 || 19.3 || .444 || .000 || .552 || 7.3 || .3 || .7 || .3 || 3.8
Personal Background
Evans has a familial connection to professional football athlete Tre Odoms-Dukes.