Reggie Evans: The Most Important Man on the Nets

FAST FORWARD TO 7:25 FOR THE REGGIE EVANS STORY.

Reggie Evans is an NBA journeyman. Reggie Evans is also the most important person on the Brooklyn Nets this season. He was brought in because of the toughness, hustle, tenacity, and mentoring he can provide. Brook Lopez needs to get tougher and Reggie Evans is the man that will mold him into the player he has the potential to become. In order to understand why Reggie Evans was brought in, it is important to first understand Reggie Evans and where he came from.

Born in Pensacola, FL. Reggie Evans grew up playing basketball against kids way older and way bigger than him. It was those games of "15" that molded him into the NBA player he is now. The kind of player that will give you 100% on every play in the game and on the practice court. In today's day and age it is hard to come across players with this kind of attitude and work ethic, which is why Reggie Evans is so vital to the Nets success. In the clip above, you can hear Reggie talking about how he loves to lift before doing anything and how he was up at 6 o'clock in the morning. That is determination and that is an NBA work ethic.

At the Nets game on Friday night, I told the man sitting next to me that Reggie Evans is my favorite player on the Nets. He looked at me said, "Me too, you know what? If you don't like Reggie Evans you must like seeing puppies get killed. You must be a bad person if you don't like Reggie Evans." That is true. What he brings to a basketball team both on and off the court makes him impossible not to love. From his hustle plays and hard fouls to his Oscar worthy flops, Reggie does it all. Against the Clippers Friday he made a lot of key plays at clutch times, just as he did last night versus the Blazers. He plays a big part in the Nets rotation, coming in whenever Brook or Kris Humphries need a rest, and often times playing along side of them. He does what coach Avery Johnson asks him to do, and understands his role. He embodies a coaches dream.

Now don't get me wrong, the Nets will go as D-Will goes, but the Nets success and chemistry and team culture/attitude rest on the shoulders of Evans who will change a perpetual cellar dweller into a team with a winning attitude with his actions on and off the court. In the words of Deron Williams, "I'm just happy he is on our team because I'd HATE to have to go against him." There is no higher praise than that.