Ben McLemore, Robert Covington show fishing skills at NBA bubble

The Rockets aren’t practicing until Sunday night, so McLemore and Covington took advantage of one of the NBA’s bubble perks.

NBA teams at two of three hotels within the Disney restart hub near Orlando currently have access to special marine privileges, including a “guided fishing experience” for two hours with up to five guests.

The Houston Rockets, who are staying at the Grand Floridian, are one of the lucky teams to now have access. And on Sunday afternoon, with the team not practicing until later that night, guard Ben McLemore and forward Robert Covington took the league up on its offer.

On his Twitter page, a happy McLemore uploaded images and videos of him fishing with Covington and assistant athletic trainer Motoki Fujii. All three looked quite happy with their catch!

“We enjoying life,” McLemore wrote. Everyone on the boat wore masks, as per the NBA’s recommended safety protocols for off-court activities to minimize potential risks related to COVID-19.

The Athletic‘s Fred Katz recently wrote about the boating options available to players at the “bubble” in Florida. Among the options:

Players and others in attendance have two boating options. Participants can go on a “guided fishing experience,” a two-hour trip with up to five guests allowed. They cannot take alcohol on the boat. They can also rent motorized pontoon boats — once again, without taking alcoholic beverages onboard.

Before the beginning of scrimmages on July 22, the memo notes, only teams located at two of the three NBA-attended hotels, the Grand Floridian and the Yacht Club, can use the boats. That means teams staying at the Gran Destino — which includes the Bucks, Lakers, Clippers, Raptors, Nuggets, Celtics, Jazz and Heat — have to wait two weeks before full marine privileges.

The Rockets aren’t among the eight teams having to wait, so McLemore and Covington took full advantage of the opportunity. Considering the fun they had, expect many more players to try it in the coming days.

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