Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Despite not playing a ton of minutes, Brooklyn Nets forward Reggie Evans is the best pure rebounder in the NBA. Evans isn’t especially tall or have next level athleticism, but he simply outworks everyone else on the court when the basketball comes off the rim.
Evans has bounced around the league from team to team before signing with the Nets as a free agent last summer and he has been huge for them on the glass, averaging 10.2 rebounds in just 23 minutes per game. This isn’t the first time Evans has averaged double-digit rebounds; he was leading the league in rebounding in 2010-2011 with the Toronto Raptors before going down with an injury.
While he may not offer much offensively and only contributes 3.9 points a game, Evans rebounding more than makes up for his lack of scoring. Evans is averaging a staggering 15.5 rebounds per 36 minutes, which is one of the best rates in the league. Evans is also leading the NBA in offensive (15.1), defensive (36.) and total rebounding percentage (25.5), which measures the percent of rebounds a player secures during his time on the court. Evans has been even more of a beast on the boards in March, averaging 14.6 rebounds per game during the month.
The Nets were wise to sign Evans to a three-year deal last summer, and even smarter to play him over Kris Humphries, who has declined this season. Evans is a throwback player who knows his role and does it better than anyone else on the court. The Nets know that when the ball comes off the rim, it is more than likely to end up in the hands of Reggie Evans.
