NEED TO KNOW
- Dwyane Wade explained the origin of the iconic photo of himself on a banana boat with LeBron James, Chris Paul and Gabrielle Union
- Wade said the group got on the banana boat because Union wanted to during a group vacation
- He added that “no one was supposed to have seen” the group on the boat
Dwyane Wade says the world was never supposed to see one of the most iconic photos in NBA history.
Wade, 43, explained the origin of the “Banana Boat team” photo — in which he and his wife Gabrielle Union are seen riding a banana boat with NBA stars Chris Paul and LeBron James during a 2015 vacation — during an appearance on the Friday, May 23 episode of Pardon My Take.
The former Miami Heat star revealed that it was Union, 52, who wanted to take the banana boat out onto the water and that neither he nor his NBA superstar pals thought cameras would capture the outing.
“My wife wanted to go on a banana boat,” said Wade. “So, Chris Paul, Bron and I all got on a banana boat. Now, we were in the middle of nowhere, no one was supposed to know this but us,” Wade continued.
“Someone took a photo from God knows where. No one was supposed to have seen us on a banana boat!”
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Cleverly, Wade added, “First of all, if I knew they were taking a photo, we would have looked a little cooler.”
He also revealed that Carmelo Anthony, not pictured in the iconic image but considered a member of the “Banana Boat team,” joined the group on that vacation shortly after the photo was taken, and possibly would have also been on the banana boat if he had arrived in time.
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The “Banana Boat team” grew into a well-known concept among NBA fans after the photo surfaced of James, Paul, Wade and Anthony, who have been longtime friends since they were teenagers and former teammates on the 2008 Olympic gold medal team. The group has regularly vacationed together with their families.
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Union and Wade first met in 2007 but didn’t go public with their relationship until 2010. They tied the knot on Aug. 30, 2014 during an intimate wedding in Miami. In November 2018, the couple welcomed their first child together: daughter Kaavia James.
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James, 40, has been married to high-school sweetheart Savannah James since 2013 and they share three children: LeBron “Bronny” James Jr., Bryce Maximus and Zhuri Nova.
Paul, 40, married his wife Jada Paul (née Crawley) in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2011, with their then-toddler son in attendance. They welcomed their second child, daughter Camryn, the following year.
