In a new interview, Houston Rockets guard Ben McLemore explains his determination to assist with COVID-19 relief efforts — including a plan to increase the availability of N95 respirator masks to hospitals in need.
“I think this is the most important thing,” McLemore told RocketsWire in a podcast on Thursday. “We have these nurses and doctors helping these patients. They’re using these masks and gloves and things like that to help these patients survive and help beat the virus.”
“When you think about it, if even just a few of them get the virus, hundreds or thousands of patients might be affected,” McLemore said. “So you want to protect the people on the front line.”
On Wednesday, McLemore cited a “critical shortage” of these respirator masks. From there, his foundation began partnering with manufacturer C3 International in an attempt to fill that void.
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Three days earlier, McLemore composed a heartfelt message on Instagram regarding the importance of social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak. “The thought that COVID can only significantly affect older people is a myth,” he wrote. “Young people are dying. Stay safe and remain vigilant so that we can get back to the lives we miss.”
In Thursday’s exclusive chat with RocketsWire, the seven-year NBA veteran explains why he’s aggressively using his platform on this issue.
“We have to continue to do what’s right, and what’s important for us is to make this thing go away and limit it as much as we can, by staying in the house and keeping the social distance,” McLemore said.
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The complete podcast also includes McLemore’s perspective on the night the NBA suspended its 2019-20 season; the impact of the league’s recent decision to close all team facilities; and his perspective on the Rockets (40-24) midway through his first season with the team.
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Now 27 years old, McLemore has been an on-court revelation by scoring 9.8 points in 22.8 minutes per game, including 39.5% on 3-pointers. That’s the team’s best percentage among consistent rotation players, and it makes him especially valuable to the NBA’s leader in 3-point attempts.
After spending his first six NBA seasons with the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies, the former lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft appears to finally have a home and a defined role on a contender. (He’s already under contract with the Rockets for the 2020-21 season, too.)
But in these unprecedented times in the era of COVID-19, the role McLemore is now playing off the court is most important of all.
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