LeBron James drops heartfelt reaction to fellow Banana Boat Crew member Carmelo Anthony's HOF induction

On Wednesday, ESPN's NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Carmelo Anthony had been notified that he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer. While Anthony won't officially be enshrined in the Hall of Fame until Sept. 6, according to Charania, his place in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has been secured.

The news quickly reached one of Anthony's longtime friends and former teammates, LeBron James, who was famously part of the Banana Boat Team alongside Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul, a group of NBA stars that fans hoped would one day form a superteam.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, James reacted to the news of Carmelo Anthony being a first-ballot Hall of Famer, writing:

"CONGRATULATIONS MY BROTHER! PEACE GOD @carmeloanthony."

Anthony joins the Hall of Fame as a 10-time All-Star and an NBA scoring champion, while also being an NCAA champion and a NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

Additionally, he was a two-time USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year, winning three Olympic gold medals with Team USA, as well as an Americas Championship with Team USA in 2007.

Up until this past summer, Anthony's three Olympic gold medals were the most of any player in U.S. history. In addition, he also led Team USA in career scoring and rebounds up until Kevin Durant surpassed him in total medals and scoring at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Carmelo Anthony reveals that he wants to buy the Washington Wizards

In addition to being announced as a first-ballot Hall of Famer this week, Carmelo Anthony also announced his intentions of buying the Washington Wizards.

Earlier in the year, Anthony notably suggested that Kevin Durant end his career back home in Washington. At the time, he explained how Durant could help make the Wizards a relevant team again, however, on the latest episode of his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast on Friday, he announced that he wants to buy the Wizards.

Between his experience as a player, and his familiarity with how various teams around the league operate, Melo believes that he would be a great owner:

"I want to buy the Wizards. I would be a great owner. Former player. I understand players. I understand personnel, I understand being fatigued. I understand how to build teams, but I also understand what I don't understand.

"I know what I don't know. You also have to put people in those positions. President, GM, you put all the basketball acumen in those positions, and then you cover that with business model. ... The business mind can never question the basketball mind. But it has to be a connection between the two."

While there's been no indication that Wizards majority owner Ted Leonsis is looking to sell the franchise, given the team's struggles over the years, bringing in a former player like Carmelo Anthony to breathe new life into the franchise could be an intriguing move for the longtime owner.