NBA 2017-18: 5 Players Having A Solid Bounce-Back Season So Far
Talent can't be taught. Most of the NBA players have just got it. It's all about maximizing that talent with the team assembled around you in the hopes of winning a championship someday.
On the other hand, even with so many players having the talent, there is a reason there is only one LeBron James. Having an elite career requires discipline, determination, the right attitude and a good work ethic to not only thrive in the league but also find success. That's pretty demanding of the players, not to mention the off-court problems they have to face and overcome.
So not all players having the same career progression like many of the league's elites do. There are some who see a lull, where their productivity, efficiency, and demand in the league drops. That forces them to reinvent themselves or just work and try harder.
Here are five players, who through the first quarter of the season, seem to be giving their career a revival of sorts:
#5 Tyreke Evans
Tyreke Evans began his career with a bang for the Sacramento Kings, becoming one of only four rookies in NBA history to record 20+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists. Although he was still productive during his rookie contract, a lack of team success, saw him sign with the New Orleans Pelicans in the summer of 2013.
For a couple of seasons, he did what the team needed and the franchise had mixed results (one Playoff performance as the 8th seed and the other a 34-win season). However, from the beginning of the 2015-16, his numbers began to dip largely in part to injuries. From 2015 to 2017, he only played a total of 65 games out of a possible 162. Oh, also he got traded back to Sacramento as part of the DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans trade.
But this year has been like a new life for Evans.
For one, he's played in all of the Grizzlies' 23 games, even starting four of them. He's averaging 17.8 points (tied for second-best in career, previously averaged in the second season of career), 5.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists in 29.2 minutes on the floor. He's so far having his best contributions, by minutes averages, in his career. Now for the best part. In a league, that depends on a lot of shooting, Evans is shooting career-highs from the field () and beyond the arc ().