SACRAMENTO ---- The Sacramento Kings today signed first-round draft pick Ben McLemore to a contract, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro. Sacramento selected McLemore with the seventh-overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
An early entry candidate, the 6-5, 195-pound guard averaged 15.9 points (.495 FG%, .420 3pt%, .870 FT%), 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 32.2 minutes per game in 37 appearances for the Jayhawks last season. McLemore set KU freshman records in scoring (third in the Big 12) and free-throw percentage, while earning Second-Team All-America honors by the AP, NABC, and USBWA. A three-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week, the standout guard became only the second Jayhawk in the 17-year history of the Big 12 to win both awards in the same season. He registered 11 games of 20 points or more, including three 30-point performances. His 36 points against West Virginia broke the Kansas freshman single-game scoring record and his three 30-point efforts also set a KU freshman single-season mark.
McLemore becomes only the third player to be selected out of Kansas by the Kings in the Sacramento era, joining Ryan Robertson (second round, 45th overall, 1999) and Thomas Robinson (first round, 5th overall, 2012).