The History Behind the Banana Boat Crew ft. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony

Posted on by Jack Marks

After a photo of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and Wade’s wife Gabrielle Union on vacation leaked in 2015, the Banana Boat squad concept was born. While Anthony is not in the photo, he was on vacation with them at the time and is considered the Banana Boat Team’s ‘fourth member.’

The four NBA superstars have been buddies since they were kids and have vacationed together frequently. They were also teammates in the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal-winning squad.

LeBron James
onstage during the 2016 ESPYS at Microsoft Theater on July 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.

Before 2015, it’s safe to say that few people had ever heard of a banana boat. However, it became a cultural phenomenon after LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Paul popularized it.

How did the Banana Boat crew become famous with LeBron James

It all started in 2010, when James, Wade, Paul, and Carmelo Anthony went on a summer vacation together, something they did rather regularly. After that, a photo of James, Wade, and Paul along with Wade’s wife Gabrielle Union, riding a banana boat went viral. People began to have a good time with it.

Anthony was not on the banana boat excursion, although he was on vacation with the group. There was chatter at the time that James, Wade, Paul, and Anthony wanted to form a team to play together. The fact that LeBron indicated he hoped the group will be able to play together before the end of their careers further added to the evidence.

Obviously, forming a squad of four men is challenging. It’s difficult enough with three players, let alone four. Outside of the Olympics or an unfair game of casual basketball, a LeBron-Wade-Paul-Melo team was probably never all that plausible. ‘The Banana Boys are reunited,’ Wade said on Snapchat in the summer of 2016. Snapchat created a “Banana Boys” Snapchat filter for the group. During the ESPY Awards that same year, the four stars addressed social injustice on stage.