Former NBA star Ben McLemore will spend the next 100 months of his life in Oregon prison after a jury on Wednesday convicted him of raping and sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman at a house party in 2021, ESPN reported.
Last week, a Clackamas County Circuit Court jury found McLemore, 32, guilty of one charge of first-degree rape, one charge of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and one count of second-degree sexual abuse. He was, however, not found guilty of second-degree sexual abuse. McLemore’s conviction came after he entered a not-guilty plea to the charges.
The October 3, 2021, incident is said to have occurred at the Lake Oswego home of NBA star Robert Covington. McLemore and Covington were playing for the Portland Trail Blazers at the time, and authorities ultimately linked the convicted man to the alleged crime.
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McLemore was indicted, and a warrant was issued for his arrest after the victim testified before a Clackamas County grand jury in February 2024. The jury was also presented with evidence.
Clackamas County First Assistant District Attorney Scott Healy told jurors that around 2 a.m. on the day of the incident, the woman had passed out on a couch in the living room after she had gotten very drunk. Healy said that when the woman became somewhat conscious in the morning, McLemore used his fingers to penetrate her sexually and started having sex with her, ESPN reported.
But McLemore’s attorneys claimed the victim’s version of events was inaccurate, arguing that she initiated sexual contact and agreed to it. They also implied that while McLemore and the woman were intoxicated at the time, she was in a sufficiently sober state to give consent.
“I strive to live with kindness, to be gentle and show up for my people,” McLemore said in a statement on Wednesday. “I care deeply about those around me. And, even in this dark moment, I believe in the power of grace and redemption. I believe in second chances, and will work work every day to earn mine.”
The convicted man in another statement, however, said that the verdict had left him “surprised and disappointed.”
“We hope the Oregon Legislature will adopt a ‘second look’ process that would evaluate whether he should serve the entire 100 month sentence or whether, beyond the short alcohol-influenced encounter that led to this conviction, he is a considerate and humble person who has lived an honorable, community-focused life,” McLemore’s attorney, Kristen Winemiller, told the news outlet.
The victim on Wednesday also read a statement in a video appearance. “This has been the longest almost four years of my life. I never imagined that reporting this back in 2021 would lead to such an incredibly difficult and long journey,” she said.
“These last few years have often felt like a weight that I’ve had to drag behind me, a constant reminder of the trauma that I haven’t been able to fully work through because there was no ending in sight. I now understand, on a deep level, why so many victims hesitate or never report what happened to them.”
“Many people are often afraid to report this type of conduct for a number of reasons,” Healy said in a statement. “Hopefully the victim’s strength and courage in this case will give others the fortitude to come forward in circumstances where sexual assault has occurred. The sentence the defendant received today should serve as a reminder that this type of conduct will not be tolerated in our community, and that the Clackamas County DA’s Office will always work hard to hold offenders accountable and provide justice to victims.”
McLemore was a member of the University of Kansas men’s basketball team before the Sacramento Kings selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. He played for other NBA teams including the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, and Los Angeles Lakers. He also had professional stints in China, Greece, and Spain.
