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LeBron James Reunites With 'Banana Boat' Crew In Tribute To Former Lakers Forward

A really cool moment here!

Matt Levine

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It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since the infamous 2003 NBA Draft. A draft that yielded so much talent that transformed the landscape of the NBA universe. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and more all came from the draft and all made their impact felt.

Only James remains as an active NBA player from that list while Anthony just retired officially last season. It was a special draft class that is starting to come to the end. James will likely play for a little longer but nobody knows how long. 

But as James, Wade and Anthony came into the league together, they bonded as friends off the court. A few years later point guard Chris Paul entered the league and his also joined their group, creating the famous "Banana Boat" friends. Technically Anthony wasn't in the photo but Paul wasn't apart of the 2003 draft class so it all checks out.

The four stars all formed strong friendships as the years went on. They all were linked together so when Anthony finally hung up his sneakers, they decided to come together again at the ESPYs this season to honor him.

Anthony spent his last season in the NBA with the Lakers where he averaged 13.3 points and shot 37.5 percent from three-point land. His career was one for the ages and the only thing he was missing with a title. But Anthony spoke about how he became okay with that towards the end of his career. 

It was a cool moment and an ode to a throwback moment for NBA fans. The members of the group are all now grown men but they still have much love and appreciation for each other.

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Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, covering all Southern California sports in his career.

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