Carmelo Anthony explains why he wasn’t in the famous Banana Boat pic with LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade

Carmelo Anthony has been a lot in a legendary career. All-Star. Score champion. Gold medal. Hall of Fame likely. One thing it wasn’t, however, is pictured on a banana boat in the Bahamas alongside LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. Despite being widely treated as a member of the Banana Boat team, Anthony wasn’t technically on the boat with his three fellow stars or Wade’s wife Gabrielle Union, and now we know why.

Anthony appeared on Barstool’s Pardon My Take Wednesday and shared the story of his absence. It started with a scheduling issue, but ultimately he sticks to his choice not to get on the boat.

“I was not left out. They were already there and I was meeting them,” said Anthony. “I had just arrived and we were, like, rolling over to the boat. They were already in the water doing watersports. I see them on the banana boat and I’m like, ‘What ‘is it ?’ And they’re like, ‘Come on!’ And I’m like ‘No, I’m not going into this shit.’ “

When asked to clarify if he had been invited to the boat, Anthony confirmed that he was “informally”, saying “it was a wave of the hand”. Yet even though he wasn’t technically in the photo, he considers himself part of the banana boat family. “I’m an extension, I’m a banana boat family,” Anthony said. “They attacked me once, ‘why do you keep saying you’re not a banana boat”, alright man, damn, I’m on the banana boat, damn it. I wasn’t there , you keep arguing, you keep fighting. “

Anthony doesn’t need a boat photo to solidify his membership. Unlike Paul and Wade, he played in the NBA with several members of the Banana Boat family. He did a brief stint with Paul in Houston and now plays with James in Los Angeles. Now the Lakers are relying on their banana duo’s chemistry to help them win a championship, and luckily now we know there is no hard feelings over Anthony’s absence in the photo.