Carmelo Anthony has always been considered a member of the “Banana Boat Boys,” but there’s one problem — he wasn’t actually on the banana boat. That has left us with some questions, and Carmelo was kind enough to answer them this week.
The “Banana Boy Boys” were born when best friends LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade all rode on an inflatable banana boat together in the Bahamas back in 2015. The three NBA stars lined up one right after the other with Wade’s wife Gabrielle Union at the front of the boat. Anthony was also on that trip, so why didn’t he saddle up?
Anthony was very candid about the banana boat during an appearance on the “Pardon My Take” podcast. He was asked if not being invited on it was the worst moment of his career, but Carmelo says he was invited. He declined. Be aware that the video contains some inappropriate language.
“I didn’t get left out. They were already down there (in the Bahamas) and I was meeting them,” Anthony explained. “I had just flown in and we were, like, taxiing to the boat. They were already in the water doing water sports. I see them on the banana boat and I’m just like, ‘What is this?’ And they’re like, ‘Come on!’ And I’m like, ‘No, I’m not getting on that s—.'”
Anthony said he would have had no interest in riding on the banana boat even if he arrived in the Bahamas earlier. He does, however, consider himself a part of the “Banana Boat family.”
The “Banana Boat Boys” became so popular that other teams were still re-creating it years later. Now that Carmelo and LeBron are finally teammates in L.A., Anthony had better embrace it more than ever.
More must-reads: