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As a basketball dad, Carmelo Anthony is all-in on supporting his son Kiyan’s career. After the 2025 McDonald’s All-American roster was released without Kiyan’s name on the list, the former NBA superstar didn’t stay silent..
Carmelo addressed Kiyan’s snub on Thursday's episode of his "7PM in Brooklyn" podcast. In the video, the one-time NBA scoring champion didn’t mince words about Kiyan’s exclusion from the All-American game:
"Anthony family once again gets jerked," Carmelo said. "I think he deserved to make it. No bias s**t. I think he really put the work in and really deserved to be a McDonald's All-American." (Timestamp - 27:48)
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Though Kiyan has been touted as a four-star prospect and ranked as the No. 1 high school player in New York, the Long Island Lutheran standout was not included in the All-American lineup released in late January.
In reacting to his son’s snub, Carmelo acknowledged that factors beyond on-court performance could have played a role in Kiyan’s omission.
"The politics that you have to deal with today — the fact that I was a #1 player and I had all that and I built that...you have to deal with some of that today." [Timestamp - 33:39]
Despite expressing disappointment over the All-American game snub, Carmelo — who ranks No. 10 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list — recognized the valuable lesson his son could take from the experience:
"The lesson in that: Don't stop working just because you don't get what you want. Don't stop working." (Timestamp - 31:25)
Carmelo Anthony watches from courtside as son Kiyan takes on his high school alma mater
Earlier this month, Carmelo Anthony had a courtside seat as Kiyan led Long Island Lutheran against Oak Hill Academy, the very high school team he played for more than two decades ago.
In front of his father and several NBA scouts, the Syracuse commit scored 21 points to lead Long Island Lutheran to a 71-61 win.
Carmelo was not a quiet spectator during the game. The former New York Knicks forward was seen cheering animatedly and even shouting instructions from courtside.
