A former draft pick by the Sacramento Kings is flourishing in the NBA. Just not with the purple and white.
Sacramento Kings fans have always wanted the best for their former players, at least most of them. So when Ben McLemore signed with the Houston Rockets this summer, there was hope that he would turn his career around after having subpar seasons before.
McLemore, who is entering his prime at 26, is currently averaging 9.2 points per game on 34% shooting from the three-point line for the Rockets. If the numbers hold up, this would be the best season that Ben has had since his sophomore season when he was still a member of the Kings.
As this season has gone on, McLemore eventually got promoted to the starting lineup for Houston and for good reason. When Ben gets 30 or more minutes per contest, he is averaging 18.2 points a game while shooting 40.3% from three. With these performances, there is a reason to believe that Ben is ready to have a breakout season with the Rockets.
Why It Did Not Work With Ben?
Several things could have messed up the development of McLemore during his time in Sacramento. The primary reason for his lack of production was related to the early coaching carousel when Vivek Ranadive took charge of the team.
During McLemore’s sophomore year, he saw an increase in production but also saw the Kings go through three different head coaches during that season. That would involve three new coaching systems for the young shooting guard.
With George Karl eventually taking over the coaching reigns, Kings fans thought McLemore’s third year with their team would be the breakout season. Unfortunately, Ben’s minutes decreased, the Kings struggled, and Karl was relieved of his coaching duties by the end of the season.
McLemore eventually ended his tenure with Sacramento as he went to the Memphis Grizzles where he averaged 7.5 points a game in his lone season. The next season, McLemore got traded back to Sacramento where he played just 19 games during his second stint.
McLemore has experienced a lot of change in his career and has been developed poorly by his former teams. Now as he is with the Rockets, he is starting to mature and understand how to play through challenges and with urgency.
Final Thoughts
McLemore should be proud of what he is accomplishing this season, and so should his Sacramento fans. Kings fans have always felt that McLemore was a hard worker, but just could not figure out how to play up to his ceiling.
But with this latest surge from B-Mac, there is optimism that he can still become a good role player in the NBA as he is now one of the most reliable perimeter shooters on a good Rockets team.