Star Jones (left) and Dwyane Wade Photo by: Jennifer Graylock / JPI; Larry Marano / Getty
Dwyane Wade Defends 'Friendship' with Star Jones | Star Jones
Has NBA player Dwyane Wade scored with the newly single Star Jones?

Publicly, the Miami Heat guard is blocking all questions about any romance.

"Star is an unbelievable woman. We have a great, great relationship. As friends," Wade said Thursday of the state-of-play between him and the former View co-host.

"We're friends, just like a lot of celebrities.", he insisted during his guest spot alongside Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith on the light-hearted TNT show Inside the NBA.

"Are y'all close friends? ... Are you the kind of friends that drink out of one cup with two straws?" Smith asked, referring to a much-discussed photo of Wade, 28, and Jones, 46, at a tennis match. "Those kind of friends?"

"We are friends. That's all," repeated Wade, who is married to his high school sweetheart. The couple have two sons.

Representatives for Jones, whose comeback show on TruTV was canceled in January, did not immediately return a call from Associated Press for comment Thursday night.

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