Yahoo Sports LeBron James remembers saving Carmelo Anthony’s life as duo prepare for first-round playoff series
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will kick off their NBA title quest on Tuesday with their first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers — which will pit him against longtime friend and Banana Boat Crew member Carmelo Anthony.
Before that kicks off, however, James was asked on Monday about a terrifying incident the two underwent on a vacation they took in the Bahamas several years ago.
James saved Anthony’s life
Anthony and James, along with former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade and Oklahoma City Thunder star Chris Paul and their families, were on vacation in the Bahamas a few years ago.
They had all jumped out of a boat and swam to a grotto, though Anthony stayed back to watch barracudas, he first revealed on an Instagram live session with Wade earlier this year.
The current, he said, started taking him away from the boat and into the open ocean.
When the rest of the crew had returned to the boat, Anthony was gone.
“I just knew that he was not back in the boat with the rest of us, so I went out looking for him,” James said Monday, via ESPN. “And through the grace of God and through strength and not being afraid of the water, I was able to help him back to the boat. It was the only thing that was on my mind at that point and time, was getting my brother back to the boat.”
That’s when James jumped into the water and rushed to the rescue.
“He was bringing me back with one arm,” Anthony said in March. “He’s swimming with one arm, and he’s carrying me with the other arm. … Yo, Bron, I appreciate that. You saved my life that day. Them little flippers wasn’t working for me.”
The two, who both entered the league in 2003, have clearly moved past the incident and are focused on the upcoming series — which will mark just the second series between Anthony and James, and the first in eight years.
Had that day in the Atlantic Ocean gone differently, however, the series — and the NBA landscape as a whole — would undoubtedly look very, very different.
“It’s a blessing, honestly. I don’t really know what to say to be honest,” James said, via ESPN. “I’m just happy he’s still here.”
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