LeBron James Recalls Rescuing Carmelo Anthony During Bahamas Vacation

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

LeBron James is a three-time champion, four-time MVP and one of the greatest players in NBA history.

Apparently, he is also quite the lifeguard.

As Dave McMenamin of ESPN detailed, James spoke about the time he rescued Carmelo Anthony when the 2003 draftees were vacationing in the Bahamas with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and all their families.

Anthony was missing when they all returned to the boat after exploring a grotto, and James helped find and rescue him.

“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. “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.”

Anthony spoke about the ordeal during an Instagram Live session with Wade and Gabrielle Union in March, comparing the King to the 1980s TV character MacGyver and revealing that James saved his life.

James’ Los Angeles Lakers will face Anthony’s Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs starting Tuesday.

Los Angeles is the No. 1 seed, but Portland is anything but a typical No. 8 seed. The Trail Blazers battled through injuries for much of the season but were largely healthy in the NBA’s bubble at Walt Disney World Resort. As a result, Damian Lillard put on a show while leading his team up the standings and into the play-in series.

Portland defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in that play-in matchup to earn the playoff spot, which means the Lakers will be tasked with slowing Lillard and CJ McCollum with a backcourt that is without Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo.

They may need James to play the role of rescuer again and defend Lillard in crunch time with the games on the line.