Ben McLemore

Ben McLemore
No. 23 – Sacramento Kings
Position Shooting guard
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1993-02-11) February 11, 1993
St. Louis, Missouri
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight 195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school Oak Hill Academy
(Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
Christian Life Center
(Humble, Texas)
College Kansas (2012–2013)
NBA draft 2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7th overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Playing career 2013–present
Career history
2013–present Sacramento Kings
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Ben McLemore III[1] (born February 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). McLemore played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks and was known for his athletic ability complemented by his outstanding jump shot. His size, style of play and unique set of abilities had garnered comparisons to NBA sharpshooter Ray Allen.[2][3][4] He was the seventh pick in the 2013 NBA draft.[5][6]

Early life

McLemore was born in St. Louis, Missouri to parents Ben McLemore II and Sonya Reid. He is the fourth of five children.

High school career

McLemore played high school basketball at Wellston High School in St. Louis, Missouri for three years, before his school was shut down in 2010. He then attended both Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia and Christian Life Center in Humble, Texas during his senior year of high school.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, McLemore was listed as the No. 9 shooting guard and the No. 34 player in the nation in 2011.[7]

College career

After committing to Kansas, McLemore was deemed ineligible to play by the NCAA because he attended multiple high schools, resulting in his transcripts being "a little fuzzy".[8] He was allowed to practice with the team and take part in team activities starting in the second semester of the school year.[9]

At the beginning of his college career, McLemore was considered to be either a late first-round or early second-round prospect. However, during his first season as a redshirt freshman, McLemore averaged 16.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, with 50.7% shooting from the field and 86.7% shooting from the foul line,[10] and was named a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award.[11]

After declaring for the 2013 NBA Draft, allegations arose that NBA agent Rodney Blackstock had given thousands of dollars in impermissible benefits to McLemore's AAU coach, Darius Cobb, in exchange for Cobb steering McLemore toward certain financial advisers and NBA agents.[12] Lending credence to Cobb's allegations, McLemore had Blackstock on his guest pass list for at least three Kansas home games that season, and subsequently signed Blackstock as his NBA agent.[12] This set of facts caused the launch of an NCAA investigation to determine whether or not Kansas will have to vacate the basketball games in which McLemore played.[12]

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Kansas 373732.2.495.420.8705.22.01.00.715.9

Professional career

Sacramento Kings (2013–present)

2013–14 season

McLemore was selected with the seventh overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2013 NBA draft.[13] On July 13, 2013, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Kings and joined them for the 2013 NBA Summer League.[14] He was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November 2013.[15]

In February 2014, McLemore was selected to participate in the 2014 Sprite Slam Dunk contest.[16] In the Kings' final game of the regular season on April 16, McLemore scored a season-high 31 points in a loss to the Phoenix Suns.[17] In his rookie season, he played all 82 games (55 starts), averaging 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 26.7 minutes per game.[17]

2014–15 season

In July 2014, McLemore re-joined the Kings for the 2014 NBA Summer League where he helped them win the Summer League championship while averaging 12.6 points in seven games. On October 19, 2014, the Kings exercised their third-year team option on McLemore's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2015–16 season.[18] On March 11, 2015, he scored a season-high 27 points in a win over the Charlotte Hornets.[19] He started in all 82 regular season games for the Kings in 2014–15 while averaging 12.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 32.6 minutes per game.[19]

2015–16 season

On October 3, 2015, the Kings exercised their fourth-year team option on McLemore's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season.[20] On December 5, he had a season-best game with 19 points and 9 rebounds in a loss to the Houston Rockets.[21] On January 28, 2016, he scored a season-high 26 points in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.[22] On February 1, McLemore missed his first game of his career due to a sprained right wrist, snapping his consecutive games streak at 211, which was the second-longest in the NBA behind Tristan Thompson (335).[23] He later missed 10 games in March with a finger-tip injury.[24]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–14 Sacramento 82 55 26.7 .376 .320 .804 2.9 1.0 .5 .2 8.8
2014–15 Sacramento 82 82 32.6 .437 .358 .813 2.9 1.7 .9 .2 12.1
2015–16 Sacramento 68 53 21.2 .429 .362 .718 2.2 1.2 .8 .1 7.8
Career 232 190 27.2 .414 .346 .786 2.7 1.3 .7 .1 9.7

References

  1. ↑ Keegan, Tom. Rising above: Ben McLemore elevates above adversity, Lawrence Journal-World, December 5, 2012.
  2. ↑ "NBA Draft Breakdown and Projections for Kansas Star Ben McLemore". Bleacher Report. 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  3. ↑ "Could Kansas' Ben McLemore Go #1?". NBADraft.net. 2012-12-26. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  4. ↑ "Ben McLemore". NBADraft.net. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  5. ↑ NBA Draft Prospect of the Week: Ben McLemore. Draft Express (December 24, 2012). Retrieved on 2013-01-11.
  6. ↑ 23 – Ben McLemore. NBA Draft.net. Retrieved on 2013-01-11.
  7. ↑ "Ben McLemore Recruiting Profile". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  8. ↑ Keeley, Sean (2011-10-14). "Kansas Declares Freshmen Ben McLemore, Jamari Traylor Ineligible". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  9. ↑ Bedore, Gary. "KU freshmen Ben McLemore, Jamari Traylor ineligible for 2011-12 season / LJWorld.com". .ljworld.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  10. ↑ 23 Ben McLemore, G Kansas Jayhawks. "Ben McLemore, Kansas, NCAA Basketball". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  11. ↑ "Withey, McLemore Named to Wooden Finalist List". ThroughThePhog.com. March 9, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 Auerbach, Nicole (June 28, 2013). "Why Ben McLemore chose Rodney Blackstock as his agent". USA Today.
  13. ↑ "KINGS SELECT BEN MCLEMORE IN FIRST ROUND". NBA.com. June 27, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Kings Sign 2013 First-Round Pick Ben McLemore". NBA.com. July 13, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Kings Ben McLemore named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November". NBA.com. December 3, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Ben McLemore Selected to 2014 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest". NBA.com. February 6, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Ben McLemore 2013-14 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Kings Pick Up Option on Guard Ben McLemore". NBA.com. October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  19. 1 2 "Ben McLemore 2014-15 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Kings Pick Up Option on Ben McLemore". NBA.com. October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  21. ↑ Ben McLemore 2015-16 Game Log
  22. ↑ Kings Unable To Complete Comeback
  23. ↑ Gay scores 32 to lead Kings over Bucks, 111-104
  24. ↑ Cauley-Stein scores 21 points, Kings beat Mavs 133-111
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