"That s**t hit so hard" - Carmelo Anthony sets record straight on LeBron James' 'Banana boat' rumors
Carmelo Anthony collected plenty of memories during his NBA career. He will always be linked with the so-called 'Banana Boat Crew,' a group of people composed of NBA stars LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Anthony.
The concept of the 'Banana Boat Crew' originated when a photo of Jame, Paul, Wade and Wade's wife Gabrielle Union on a yellow boat emerged while they were vacationing together. During an appearance on "Podcast P with Paul George" on Monday, Melo clarified that he wasn't on the boat, as many people think when they see the other three members of the 'Banana Boat Crew.'
"Bron, CP, D-Wade, the fam, they're already there in the Bahamas. I'm trying to get out of New York, though. When I get there, I'm on the tender boat. I see the, like... Banana boat--I don't even like saying the name," Carmelo Anthony said.
"I need a glass of champagne 'cause I've been traveling for a long time. They be like, 'Yo, yo, yo, come on!' I look, I say, 'Nah, I'm going to the boat.' On the picture, everybody think that I'm on the boat. I'm not on the boat. It's Bron, CP, D-Wade and Gab [Union]. It's a picture because the notion of the 'Banana Boat Crew,' that s**t hit so hard.
He added that he didn't want to get on the boat, shutting down what most people thought about that moment.
"And they're like,'Yo, come on.' [I say] 'Nah, no way I'm getting on that with y'all. There's no way, catch a picture of this. This is crazy.'"
Carmelo Anthony says it was time to clear up the story
Moreover, Anthony took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to make it clear that it was time to shed light on this situation.
"Had to clear this one up once and for all 😂," Anthony wrote on Twitter.
Last year, Carmelo Anthony explained that the situation wasn't as dramatic as people made it sound like. They were swimming with the two other players on the crew when Anthony realized he was far from the boat and couldn't get back. LeBron James noticed that and jumped into the water to save Anthony.
As grateful as he was, the former Knicks and Nuggets star stated that he wasn't dying.
"I wasn't dying," Anthony said. "People make it sound like 'Yo, Melo was on his death bed.'
"I was snorkling in the wrong direction... I would have made it back. But it would have been awhile because I was fighting the current."
Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James have been close friends for a long time and that moment only brought them closer together.