Lemon attended Julian High School where he averaged 19 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals per game as a senior, earning him a third-team 3A all-state pick by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and a second-team All-Chicago Public League.
College career
After graduating, Lemon went to Bradley where he averaged 18 points and 3 rebounds as a senior. When he graduated he ranked among Bradley's all-time top 10 in career points, assists and steals and had several awards, including the MVC Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2014, Bradley's first player ever to win the award.
Professional career
Körmend (2014)
After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Lemon joined the Golden State Warriors for the 2015 NBA Summer League. On September 10, 2014, he signed with EGIS Körmend of Hungary for the 2014–15 season. On December 23, 2014, he parted ways with the club after appearing in 12 league games.
On February 6, 2015, he signed with the Crailsheim Merlins of Germany for the rest of the season. In eight games for the Merlins, he averaged 6.4 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
On February 21, 2018, the New Orleans Pelicans signed Lemon to a 10-day contract. He made his NBA debut two days later in a 124–123 overtime win over the Miami Heat, playing in four minutes that night. Lemon signed his second 10-day contract on March 4. After the expiration of his second 10-day contract, Lemon returned to Fort Wayne.
On July 25, Lemon signed a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics. During this time, he was expected to split his playing time between the Celtics and their NBA G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. On November 29, 2018, Lemon was waived by the Celtics without appearing in a game for the parent club.
On December 8, 2018, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants announced that they had acquired the right of Alex Hamilton and a first round pick in the 2019 NBA G League draft from the Windy City Bulls in exchange for the right to Lemon.
On March 29, 2019, the Chicago Bulls announced that they had signed Lemon. On March 30th, 2019, Lemon made his debut with the Bulls, scoring 19 points with 6 assists and four steals. In his third game in a Chicago Bulls uniform, in a game against the Wizards in Washington D.C. on April 3, 2019, Lemon led all players with 24 points in a very efficient 11 of 16 from the floor while leading all players with eight assists. In the final minute of the game, Lemon hit one go ahead basket and afterwards a go ahead free throw. On the other end of the floor Lemon played hard, tenacious defense to secure the victory for the Bulls, 115-114.
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2019–present)
On October 10, 2019, the Indiana Pacers announced that they had signed Lemon. This comes after the release of 2x Sun BeltDefensive Player of the YearJaKeenan Gant. Terms of the contract wasn't released. On October 16, 2019, Lemon was waived by the Indiana Pacers. On October 26, 2019, Lemon was included in the training camp roster for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. On November 6, 2019, Lemon was included in the opening night roster of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. He averaged 20.3 points, 6.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
College
Personal life
He is the son of Walter Sr. and Katrina Lemon and is one of three siblings. Earning a spot on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll three times, Lemon earned his bachelor's degree in psychology. Growing up in Chicago, he always wanted to be like Derrick Rose and it shows in his game with flashy passes and hard cut to the hoop.
