A recent episode of Dwyane Wade’s podcast, The Why, revealed that Miami Heat’s Big Three would have been a Big Four if a little thing like a uniform number hadn’t gotten in the way.
The number three got in the way of Golden State Warriors point guard Chris Paul joining the famed trio of Wade, LeBron
James, and Chris Bosh in Miami during that team’s era when they won two NBA championships. Paul and Wade discussed why Paul never got to wear a Miami Heat uniform when President Pat Riley was ready to trade for him.Wade wore the number three throughout his time
with the Heat, and Paul has worn the number three since he stepped on an NBA court and still wears it today. When the Heat had the opportunity to get Wade, during conversations between the players, they talked about all the possibilities. They discussed who would handle the ball, how to incorporate each other into plays, and what took place on the court.But, it took a question from Paul’s brother, CJ, to have all their plans crumble. Knowing that both players wore number three, he asked, “Who was going to wear number three?”
That never crossed the minds of the two guards. Since neither wanted to give up the number three, the trade never went through, and Paul never got to play with two of his “Banana Boat Crew” brothers (Consisting of James, Paul, Wade, and Carmelo Anthony).
Paul and LeBron are still playing basketball, while their two counterparts, Wade and Anthony, have retired. Paul is the only “Banana Boat Crew” member who didn’t play alongside LeBron (Anthony played with him while on the Los Angeles Lakers).