Kings head coach Keith Smart said he has a rule that if a starting player gets injured and needs to miss games, that player will still have his spot in the lineup when he’s well enough to return.

With Tyreke Evans available Tuesday night after missing two games with a sprained left ankle, that rule was in effect.

It was John Salmons, though, who started at small forward in the Kings’ 119-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Smart said after the game that that was a decision Evans made at the team’s morning shootaround.

“Tyreke came up and said, coach, keep Johnny in the lineup,” Smart said. “That’s huge for a guy to make that call right there in front of everyone.”

Guard Isaiah Thomas said the announcement at the shootaround drew a “round of applause.”

“Your franchise player, the best player on the team, for him to do that, that means he’s all about winning and wants to do whatever it takes to win,” Thomas said.

via Matt Kawahara of The Sacramento Bee