Kiyan Anthony is one step closer to the NBA.
Carmelo Anthony’s son, Kiyan Anthony, a top-35 recruit in the class of 2025, revealed Friday, Nov. 15, that he is following in his father’s footsteps by committing to Syracuse. Anthony made the revelation during his father’s “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast. The Orange were selected from a final list that included USC and Auburn. Syracuse had been the long-time favorite, but Anthony pursued a serious recruiting process, visiting Florida State as a junior and USC two months ago.
His journey follows another NBA son and one who is an alumnus of the USC school he snubbed: Bronny James. They have similar journeys up until this point: grew up with an NBA legend for a father, learned the game from that legend, became a high school sensation and became a McDonald’s All-American (Kiyan will be named one in the coming months). But that’s where the comparison ends. On the court, Bronny James and Kiyan Anthony could not be any different.
Nothing was given to Kiyan Anthony — not at all. Just two summers ago, Anthony was an afterthought. He had just started high school, but nobody really paid attention to him, as Bronny James was receiving all the hype and stealing all the headlines. But it all changed this summer; Kiyan had a massive growth spurt that shot him up to nearly 6-foot-6, giving him a KD-lite build. But what really shook everybody was the videos on social media. Anthony looked like a completely different player.
He first grabbed headlines after he was invited to the NBA Top 100 camp. Anthony had a fantastic start to the camp, scoring 42 points on 15 of 28 shots, including 4 of 9 from beyond the arc. Over the course of eight games, he averaged 28.5 points, which led all campers in scoring. The legend of Kiyan was born. We next saw Anthony dominate his AAU summer circuit on his father’s Team Melo squad, with nearly daily highlights making rounds on X. He would participate in Slam’s 2024 Summer Classic, where he would dazzle the Rucker Park crowd with his shot-making and scoring ability, and there was no denying it any longer: Kiyan Anthony had officially arrived.
By the end of the summer, Kiyan Anthony was elevated to top-35 status in his class rankings and was officially named the best high school baller in New York. Now with his commitment to Syracuse, I just want everybody to keep that same energy we had for Bronny. He won’t be at the school until after his graduation in May, but he deserves the exact same treatment we gave LeBron’s son. Really, he deserves it more.
By the time Bronny James was a senior in high school, the talks of him playing with his father, even though they were two years away at their earliest, had already begun running rampant. Even though this situation is different because Carmelo Anthony is already out of the league, that doesn’t mean we should shy away from draft talks. If Kiyan Anthony continues on his upward trajectory, there is no doubt he will be in the league.
He’s bigger than James at 6-5 compared to 6-1. He is a better scorer than James because even in high school James never averaged 19 points a night like Anthony did as a junior. And when Kiyan does get to college next year, he won’t be benched either, like James was at USC. Kiyan should walk into Syracuse as one of their top three players, and that should be enough to get him drafted first round off his own merits, not his dad’s wishes, unlike James.
Kiyan is a better prospect than Bronny James ever was, so let’s make sure that we give Kiyan the same exposure on ESPN that they gave Bronny. Let’s make sure the media talks and hypes up Kiyan the same way they did for Bronny. Let’s make sure all those NIL deals pile up and make him the richest college athlete the same way they did for Bronny.
Because unlike Bronny, Kiyan put the work in to get here; he didn’t get the silver spoon treatment because his father is the greatest player of all time. There’s something respectable about a kid who comes from money, has it all, and still grinds like he’s broke to forge his own destiny. And that alone deserves to be rewarded.
