Twelve thousand plus in attendance for a preseason game told you that Kings head honcho Paul Westphal was right. “It’s nice to have basketball back in this building, isn’t it?,” Westphal started his post game press conference. It sure was! A good crowd for the only home preseason game this season saw the Sacramento Kings tighten up the defense in the final minutes of the game and hold on to beat the Golden State Warriors 95-91 at Power Balance Pavilion on Tuesday evening. Leading the way for the Kings was Marcus Thornton who had 21 points, seven boards and four assists and J.J. Hickson who scored 19 points and had nine rebounds. Tyreke Evans scored the first basket of the new season o

With the Kings down Beno Udrih and Samuel Dalembert out and the small forward position up for grabs, Coach Paul Westphal is still searching for a winning starting lineup. The Golden State Warriors held it close for three quarters Tuesday, but it was the Kings who secured their second preseason win by pulling away in the final period to win 116-97 at Arco Arena. The Kings had six players scoring in double figures and a balanced rebounding effort making for a solid fourth quarter. A three-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter turned into a 22-point lead late in the game thanks to a strong defense and converting turnovers into points. Both teams had stretches of sloppiness, eac

Tyreke Evans is the 2010 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year, a very different award than when Kings Vice President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie and coach Paul Westphal played in the '70s. "It was the can and string Rookie of the Year when we played," Westphal said. Yes, the world is different. The basketball world is different, but the game remains very much the same.  Petrie actually won the award (sharing it in 1970 with Boston's Dave Cowens) when there was no marketing arm attached to such things. Both Petrie and Cowens progressed to have solid NBA careers, although Petrie's career was cut short by knee problems. The level of hype with winning the award then is nothing like i

After a historic season averaging 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds 5.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game, Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans will be named the 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year (ROY). The 20-year-old Chester, Pa. native became the first Kings player to win a postseason award since Bobby Jackson won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2003 and the fifth rookie in franchise history to win the ROY award. Maurice Stokes of the Rochester Royals, Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas of the Cincinnati Royals and Phil Ford of the Kansas City Kings were the first four. Evans is the first of to win the award in the Sacramento era. He also became the fourth rookie to average 20 points, five rebound

 It's Tuesday, April 27 and I don't know if Kings rookie guard Tyreke Evans has been voted the 2009-10 Rookie of the Year. And I don't care. The announcement likely will come within the next few days. And then what? The state is no longer bankrupt? Thieves no longer will steal? The Kings no longer finished with 25 victories in 82 games? I don't think so. It's an individual award in a team game. It's so so-what. Yes, Tyreke Evans deserves the Rookie of the Year in my opinion. He's a bad boy who will turn 21 Sept. 19. That means he'll likely improve immeasurably over the next few years. So check him out four years from now when he matures into a 25-year old man. Imagine this young fella

While 16 teams battle to reach the NBA Finals, nine awards are handed out during the playoffs. So far, six awards have been given out, but fans of the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks ask the question: When is the Rookie of the Year (ROY) award going to be announced? When the award was given out last year, it was given to the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose one day before Game 3 at Chicago in the first round of the playoffs. Although ROY contenders Tyreke Evans of the Kings and Stephen Curry of the Warriors aren’t in the playoffs, Brandon Jennings’ Bucks have already played Game 3 in Milwaukee. Unlike Rose last year, Jennings didn’t get a trophy. This seemingly

If making history wasn't enough, Tyreke Evans may not be done making accomplishments this summer. The Sacramento Kings rookie guard is one of three players confirmed by Team USA Basketball's Managing Director Jerry Colangelo to receive invites to its mini-camp, according to the San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami. The mini-camp will take place in Las Vegas this July. Evans, along with Golden State Warriors rookie Stephen Curry and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jeff Green are set to be invited. "We want to get them into the system and get them ready to play," Colangelo said. "Whether it's this cycle or the next." Kawakami hinted, via Twitter, that the decision came due to a roster expa

At the end of every season, the NBA Rookie of the Year (ROY) Award is awarded to the best rookie of the season. Don Meineke was the first to win the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy in the 1952-53 season. Of the 56 ROYs, 21 basketball hall-of-famers, from Oscar Robertson to Michael Jordan, have emerged. More than 53 percent of retired ROYs were voted into the hall of fame. The next trophy could be coming to Sacramento as Kings guard Tyreke Evans tries to make history becoming the fourth rookie to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists for a season. The first three were Robertson, Jordan and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James. Portland Trail Blazers Television Analyst Mike Rice kn

After being on the road the last six games, the Sacramento Kings were able to be back in Arco, playing in an environment they are use to. Unfortunately the outcome was something they were used to on the road as well. The Sacramento Kings (24-53), who were trying to avoid a season high seventh consecutive loss, hosted the playoff-bound Portland Trail Blazers (47-30), who finished with a record of 11-2 in March. Many eyes were on R.O.Y candidate Tyreke Evans before the game, as he approaches the historic 20-5-5 mark. During the game the other Roy was the one who stood out. The 2006-07 Rookie of the Year, Brandon Roy, showed the value of a few years experience.  The Trail Blazers beating

Kings rookie guard Tyreke Evans was playing the best basketball of his rookie season, but his it took a bad turn during last Friday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Late in the fourth quarter, Evans was hit by Ersan Ilyasova while he was swinging his elbows. As a result, Evans sustained a slight concussion, a bruised jaw and two cracked teeth. A fractured jaw was feared to be the diagnosis, and it would have been a horrible end to his spectacular first season in the NBA. He'll miss at least a week, which includes games against the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, New Jersey Nets and possibly the Boston Celtics. In the last two games played until his injury, Evans chalked up 2

All the talk of who should win the award, has made no sense to me. The 2010 Rookie of the Year conversation comes down to at most three possible players. Those involved in the race being: Brandon Jennings of Milwaukee, Tyreke Evans of Sacramento and Stephen Curry of Golden State. Let's first take a look at Brandon Jennings, the high school phenom who was regarded as the top high school guard two years ago and played last year in Italy. While his team has been playing the best out of the three players named, his game has faltered the last few weeks. Since February 1st, Jennings has shot 31% from the field, compared to 38% on the year, which still is not that great. And for an award that i

Without a doubt, this has been the best basketball Tyreke Evans has played in his rookie season for the Sacramento Kings The Kings’ 20-year-old guard has averaged 19 points, 8.75 rebounds, 7.75 assists and 0.75 steals per game since March 9.  Since then, the Kings have played the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland and home games against the Toronto Raptors, the Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. In that span the team has a 2-2 record. Evans posted 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and a steal in the 88-81 loss in Portland.  The Kings were within three points of the Blazers late in the game, but the experience of the Blazers overtook the Kings – the least-experienced team in the N

Wednesday night was Tyreke Evans' night at ARCO Arena. The Sacramento Kings rookie guard had limited-edition T-shirts and printouts of his face on sticks handed out on a night that was used to promote his rookie of the year campaign. His choice of music was played during warm-ups before the game. There was a special introduction, which included pyrotechnics and a banner rising in honor of his night, for him. An announced crowd of 13,412 was introduced to the rookie of the year chant, "R-O-Y." By the end of the game, RekeROY night was more than a success. It sealed the award for him. Evans, the frontrunner for the NBA's Rookie of the Year award, notched his first career triple-double wi

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson – a three-time NBA all-star point guard for the Phoenix Suns – shared his thoughts on Sacramento Kings Rookie of the Year candidate Tyreke Evans Tuesday morning at a press conference. Johnson officially endorsed Evans last week, and came before tonight’s rally to support Evans. "He's doing some amazing things," Johnson said about Evans' performance this season. "He's on pace to do something only three other (rookies) in the history of the NBA have done in the past – averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists (per game)." The three players who Johnson talked about are LeBron James and hall-of-famers Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan. Currently, Evans is