Evans signed with the Seattle SuperSonics as a free-agent in 2002, where he became known for his tenacious rebounding. In 2004–05, he led the league in rebounds-per-minute-played after finishing in the top 10 the two previous seasons. Despite playing under 24 minutes per game, he finished ninth in the NBA in total rebounds. A 2005 statistical analysis published on ESPN determined that on average, Evans will rebound one quarter of all shots missed while he is in a game. In the 2006 season this dipped to 21.5 percent, however, this was still good enough to edge out teammate Marcus Camby for the best rebound rate in all of basketball.