Former Kings guard Ben McLemore found guilty of rape by Oregon jury

Chris Biderman, The Sacramento Bee on Jul 3, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Former Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore has been found guilty of rape.

A jury in Clackamas County, Ore., on Thursday found McLemore, 32, guilty of first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and one count of second-degree sexual abuse. He was acquitted of another charge of sexual abuse, according to online court records. He previously pleaded not guilty.

The conviction stemmed from an incident involving a 21-year-old woman at a house party in Lake Oswego just outside Portland in October 2021, according to law enforcement. McLemore was at the party with Portland Trailblazers teammates at the house of former teammate Robert Covington.

McLemore was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in April after landing at Portland International Airport with an outstanding felony warrant from his charges after playing basketball overseas. He was found guilty this week after a two-and-a-half week trial in which the victim testified she was incapacitated after heavy drinking at the party and unable to provide consent.

McLemore testified in his trial that he had also been drinking but that the sex was consensual. He reportedly told jurors he had no conversation with the victim before, during or after the encounter, according to local news outlets including the Oregonian.

McLemore played his final NBA season with Portland in 2021-22, capping a nine-year career after the Kings drafted him seventh overall in 2013 after playing at Kansas. He played five seasons for Sacramento over two stints, and also spent time with the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers.

His sentencing is scheduled for next Wednesday, Clackamas County Circuit Court records show.