By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv announced that they parted ways Tuesday with guard Keenan Evans, and now the American player is cleared to join Zalgiris, Eurohoops sources confirm. The move became official later Tuesday.
Per the press release: “Keenan Evans is set to suit up for Zalgiris Kaunas next season. The 25-year-old 191 cm tall guard signed a two-year contract with the Lithuanian club, and will make the move to Lithuania from Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Last season in the EuroLeague, he averaged 25 minutes on the court, scoring 8.2 points (51.5% 2P%, 32.9% 3P%), grabbing 2.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 10.2 efficiency.
In the Israeli championship, he averaged 11.5 points (55.1 2P% & 41.2 3P%), 2.2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.1 steals and 13.5 efficiency.
Evans, who graduated from Texas Tech University in 2018, started his professional career in the NBA G-League before moving to Europe a year later.
He first played in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he represented KK Igokea. In the 2020-2021 season, he moved to Haifa Hapoel and immediately became one of the best players in the Israeli league. Evans was fifth in scoring (18.7 points), fourth in assists (6.2 assists) and second in steals (2 steals), which brought him to Maccabi’s attention.
He played twice against Zalgiris last season, putting up 13 points and 21 efficiency in Tel Aviv and 10 points and 16 efficiency in Zalgirio Arena.”
Evans landed in Maccabi last season with a three-year deal with options for the second and third years and averaged 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists across 34 EuroLeague contests in 2021-22. He helped the team win the Israeli League Cup at the beginning of the season, after fending off Hapoel Eilat in the final.
Evans began his career with the Grand Rapids Drive in 2018 and moved to Europe for the 2019-20 season with Igokea. He joined Hapoel Haifa in 2020-21 for his first experience in Israel before moving to Maccabi and the EuroLeague.
Photo credit: EuroLeague