Tyreke Evans has had a great rookie season for the Sacramento Kings this year, but there is another rookie in the state of California that is starting to gain some ground on him.  Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors has improved rapidly over the course of the season, and has solidified his spot at number two for the Rookie of the Year Award.  Still, Tyreke Evans has been much more consistent than Curry and was an impact player the first game of the season.  Curry took a little while to adjust to the speed and physicality of the NBA, but now that he has he is putting up some impressive numbers.  Unfortunately for both rookies, they are on some bad teams.  However, since they are on some bad teams it has given them the opportunity to get a lot of playing time and gain valuable minutes.  Evans season is more impressive than Curry’s though, despite Curry’s flashy and great play the past two months.  Evans has the consistency (and the scoring average) over Curry, so he will likely still win the ROY Award.  This season Evans is averaging 20.3 points, 5.4 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.  While Curry’s numbers are nearly identical to Evans in most categories, he is only averaging 16.0 points compared to Evans’ 20.3.  Both Evans and Curry will be stars in this league for years to come, but Evans has had the better rookie season.

SG/PG Tyreke Evans is the current favorite to win the Rookie of the Year Award in the NBA. He has played in 52 games (all starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 37.1 minutes, 20.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game. With Kevin Martin now in Houston I look for Evans to really excel the rest of the season as they didn’t seem to play well together. Small forward Omri Casspi has really be a find for the Kings. He has played in 55 games (26 starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 28.1 minutes, 11.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Power forward Jon Brockman was recently injured but he has played good basketball for the Kings also this season. Brockman has played in 44 games (4 starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 13.6 minutes, 3.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. He is shooting an impressive 51.1% from the floor this year.

The Kings will be without rookie forward Jon Brockman for the next 2-4 weeks due to a sprained MCL in his right knee. Brockman has played in 44 games (4 starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 13.6 minutes, 3.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. The Kings are going to miss Brockman a little bit as he brings good effort and rebounding off the bench.

As of right now the Kings have by far the best rookie crop in the NBA this year. SG/PG Tyreke Evans is the top rookie in the NBA right now. He has played in 30 games (all starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 37.0 minutes, 20.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Evans would get my vote for the Rookie of the Year Award if the season ended today. SF Omri Casspi has also been solid this season for the Kings. He has played in 32 games (10 starts) this season for the Kings and he is averaging 27.7 minutes, 13.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Casspi is a great shooter as he is hitting 49.8% of his shots from the floor and a stunning 47.1% from behind the three point line. Power forward Jon Brockman hasn’t gotten much playing time but he’s making the most of it. He has played in 26 games (0 starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 11.0 minutes, 2.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Brockman is shooting 56.8% from the floor and the Kings will likely start getting him more playing time. This was a excellent draft for the Kings which will help build a solid foundation for the future.

Tyreke Evans has not only been the Sacramento Kings best rookie this season, but their best player.  Evans was picked 4th in the NBA draft but has arguably been the best rookie so far this season.  He has already proven to be a top guard in this league and is not playing anything like a rookie.  Evans has played up to and even surpassed the hype that has surrounded him coming into the NBA.  See if Evans tops my list of the Top Rookies in the NBA so far, or if the Bucks’ Brandon Jennings is ahead of him.