Sacramento Kings: Top 5 Moments Of The Decade
#1. Evans Halfcourt Heave
The top play on our list of best moments of the last ten years came very early in the decade.
On December 29th, 2010, the Kings played host to the Memphis Grizzlies. Sacramento came into the game with an abysmal 5-23 record as their rookie DeMarcus Cousins had yet to find his footing. It was one of the lowest points (record-wise) of the decade, but the finish on that night would prove to be its most exciting moment.
The Kings had just taken a 97-96 lead with 16 seconds left after a Tyreke Evans steal and fast-break layup. On the ensuing Grizzlies possession, OJ Mayo threw up an off-balance prayer from just inside the three-point line that hit nothing but net.
The Grizzlies led 98-97 with 1.5 seconds remaining. Sacramento had no timeouts and 94 feet to the basket.
DeMarcus Cousins had the ball by himself under the opposing basket and brought his hand to his head in defeat. He might have thought that the Kings had a timeout and were using it. A reporter began walking on the court about the same time that Cousins realized that he needed to inbound the ball, and shuffled back out of bounds when Cousins whipped an inbound pass to Evans who was streaking up the left sideline.
Evans took one dribble and seemed to fumble the ball a bit before regaining control about ten feet behind the half-court line. He released the ball with less than 0.2 seconds on the clock, and the crowd grew quiet as the ball hung in the air.
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Nothing but net. Arco Arena exploded as Evans ran through and past the outstretched arms of his teammates who were rushing off of the bench. He jumped on to the scorer’s table in celebration before hopping down and into the arms of Francisco Garcia.
The fact that the best moment of the decade for the Sacramento Kings gave them their sixth win of the season is extremely fitting.