Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Ben McLemore Injury: Updates on Kings Guard's Back and Return

Alec Nathan

Sacramento Kings shooting guard Ben McLemore suffered back spasms during Monday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Continue for updates. 


McLemore Leaves Game vs. Thunder

Monday, Dec. 4

McLemore left after just seven minutes against Oklahoma City and has been ruled out for the remainder of the game, according to James Ham of CSNBayArea.com.

McLemore has been remarkably healthy since the Kings selected him with the seventh pick in the 2013 NBA draft. The Kansas product appeared in all 82 games during each of his first two NBA seasons. 

However, the 22-year-old didn't start resembling a lottery pick until the 2014-15 season. Despite playing for three coaches last year, McLemore started every game and eventually found his stroke from beyond the arc. 

Though his 43.7 percent conversion rate from the floor wasn't spectacular, it represented a nice improvement from his rookie mark of 37.6 percent. And when it came to three-point shooting, he drained 35.8 percent of his looks while averaging a solid 12.1 points. 

McLemore was particularly proficient from the corners. According to Basketball-Reference.com, the bouncy swingman attempted 36.6 percent of his total threes from the corners last season and nailed them at a 41.3 percent clip. 

Now in his third season with the Kings, McLemore is averaging 7.5 points on 45.9 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from three. 

Sacramento's certainly not lacking for shooters after adding Marco Belinelli, Seth Curry and Omri Casspi over the summer. That said, McLemore's ability to attack off the bounce and defend athletic wings makes him a more versatile option than the aforementioned trio of wings at this stage in his career.   

   

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