Banana Boat Crew: Origin of LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Melo's 'superteam'

NBA's Banana Boat Crew comprises of four veteran NBA stars – Chris Paul, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony. Formed in 2015, the Banana Boat Crew is a hypothetical pop culture NBA superteam, where James, Paul, Wade and Anthony play together, who have been friends since childhood. In the latest episode of 'Take It There' with Taylor Rooks, Chris Paul revealed how part of the Banana Boat Crew almost ended up playing for the Miami Heat, but could never decide who would wear the No. 3 jersey.

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How did the term 'Banana Boat Crew' originate?

In 2015, LeBron James, Paul, Wade, Anthony and Wade's wife Gabrielle Union were spotted in the Bahamas. During their vacation, a photo of James, Paul, Wade and Union on a banana boat was circulated on the internet, which resulted in the team being called the 'Banana Boat Crew'. Though Anthony was not a part of the photo, he was added to the Banana Boat Crew as he was vacationing with them. 

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The Banana Boat Crew throughout the years

Throughout their years, the members of the banana boat crew have been hoping to play together in the NBA. In 2008, all them played together for the Olympic team. In 2016, Chris Paul expressed interest in playing together with the team. In an interview, James also stated that he hoped all of them would play together before their careers were over. After James' comment, there were several NBA rumours about the four of them playing together for the Heat. The team even received their own Snapchat filter called the 'Banana boys' after Wade posted a snap saying 'The Banana Boys are reunited'. 

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The Banana Boat crew came together for Dwyane Wade's final NBA game

When have the Banana Boat Crew players played together? 

From 2010-2014, LeBron James and Wade played together for Miami Heat. The team made back-to-back NBA finals and even won the NBA Championship in 2012 and 2013. Wade and LeBron James met again for the NBA 2017-18 season. However, he was sent back to the Heat during the February 2018 deadline. Chris Paul has played with Carmelo Anthony, who played ten games with the Houston Rockets last season before he was traded to the Chicago Bulls. This offseason, Chris Paul was traded to OKC for Russell Westbrook. Dwyane Wade retired after the NBA 2018-19 season, which made sure that NBA fans will never see Chris Paul, James, Wade and Anthony play for one team.

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