NBA fans love their superteams. But sometimes, the best teams aren’t built on the hardwood. Take the Banana Boat Crew, for example. Dwyane Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union went on a vacation in 2015. They were accompanied by three other NBA stars, LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony.
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Back in 2015, the four NBA stars vacationed together in the Bahamas. One photo from that trip, featuring Wade, LeBron, Chris Paul, and Gabrielle Union riding a banana-shaped inflatable boat, instantly went viral.
The image became legendary, and over the years, it has become a part of pop culture. As the Banana Boat Crew gained more popularity, the members of the crew embraced it. Fast forward to today, and Dwyane Wade is still embracing it. While attending Fanatics Fest, Wade came face-to-face with a surprise, an actual banana boat brought to him by fans.
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At first, he laughed. He couldn’t believe someone would get a banana boat only for him to sign it. He asked, “What do you want me to sign it as?” Someone from the crew said, “To the gang.” Wade couldn’t help but smile. He signed the boat with a nod to the iconic memory and shared the moment on his Instagram story, pairing it with that famous vacation photo.
Dwyane Wade signs a banana boat! pic.twitter.com/DCoplFCNpZ
— Top NBA Fan (@TopNBAFanToday) June 21, 2025
The impact of the pop culture moment back in 2015 was such that the next year, Snapchat gave the crew their own “Banana Boys” filter. But the stories about the trip to the Bahamas don’t end there. DWade once revealed that no one was supposed to see the iconic picture.
Dwyane Wade revealed why he got a banana boat
On Pardon My Take, DWade talked about where the idea of a banana boat came from. He said, “My wife wanted to go on a banana boat. 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.”
It’s evident from the picture that the four of them were having a great time on that boat in the middle of nowhere. That also allowed the Banana Boat Crew to be more comfortable, but they had no idea that their vacation pictures were being taken by someone else.
“Someone took a photo from God knows where. No one was supposed to have seen us on a banana boat!” he added. Nobody posed for the picture; they were all just in the moment. Wade said that if they knew they were being snapped, they would’ve tried to look “a little cooler” for the picture.
