Kiyan Anthony recalls playing against LeBron James' sons, Bronny and Bryce James during sophomore season: "One of my better games"

Former NBA standout Carmelo Anthony's son, Kiyan Anthony, has been making waves as a four-star prospect and the No. 1-ranked player in New York in the class of 2025, according to ESPN. Anthony recently graduated from Long Island Lutheran, New York and will play college basketball for his father's alma mater, the Syracuse Orange, next season.

During his high school career, Anthony played against LeBron James's sons, Bronny and Bryce James, who represented Sierra Canyon. During Friday's segment of the "Nilosophy" podcast, he recalled how the 2023 game unfolded for him against the famous brothers in a game that was well-attended by celebrities (21:15).

"My sophomore year, we played Sierra Canyon," Kiyan Anthony said. "We played against Bronny and Bryce. It was like the biggest game I ever played in. Like every celebrity in the whole world was at the game. Me not knowing that it was that big—that was my first time playing in a game like that. So just looking around, it was crazy.

"I played all right. My sophomore year, I was like one of the role players, so I was coming off the bench, getting some minutes. But it was definitely one of my better games in my sophomore year, definitely one of my better games. Me and Bronny were guarding each other, so it was lit. It was definitely lit in Cali that day."

When Kiyan Anthony revealed Bronny James inspiration

Kiyan Anthony shares some similarities with Bronny and Bryce James, being the sons of NBA legends. Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James were in the same class of 2023 and were picked No. 3 and No. 1, respectively, during the 2023 NBA Draft. Anthony and Bryce are also in the same recruitment class and will likely be in the 2026 NBA Draft class.

During an August 2024 segment of the "7 P.M. in Brooklyn" podcast, the highly-rated Anthony revealed how much Bronny being picked No. 55 overall by the Lakers during the 2024 NBA Draft inspired him.

“It (Bronny’s draft) was fire," Kiyan Anthony said. 'Just to know that he started it, and I got a chance to like follow, not follow him, but get to where he’s at in the league. That’s fire. I texted him and everything. We was on the phone. That’s really fire, especially him playing with his pops, that’s crazy. That’s so crazy to me."

Kiyan Anthony and Bryce James were also on the same team, "Strive For Greatness" 16U at the Las Vegas Big Time Tournament last year, and they played against Duke Blue Devils twins Cameron and Cayden Boozer, who are also the sons of former NBA star Carlos Boozer.