"She the big dawg": Kiyan Anthony gushes over mom, La La Anthony's role in life off the court

NBA legend Carmelo Anthony's son Kiyan Anthony graduated from Long Island Lutheran, New York on Friday and will proceed to join the Syracuse Orange to start his college basketball career. Both of the prospect's parents including his mother, La La Anthony attended the ceremony and posted clips of their talented son's achievement on Instagram.

During Friday's segment of the "Nilosophy" podcast, Anthony gushed over his mother's role in his life off the court (11:55).

"My mom is definitely, she’s the big dawg," Kiyan Anthony said. "She does all of the dirty work. Like obviously, my dad, he's at every game, front row. My mom comes to as many games as she can, but she just plays the back. Like, whatever I'm not doing at home, whatever I'm not doing, she calls everybody. She always makes sure I get to wherever I have to go safely.

"She makes sure everywhere I'm good. So I just call her when I need anything—she’s going to make sure it's done. And I just try to support her in whatever she’s got going on, ’cause she works a lot. She always puts me first."

La La bemoans Kiyan Anthony's departure.

Kiyan Anthony, who committed to his father, Carmelo Anthony's alma mater, the Syracuse Orange, last year, will soon depart for college and will part with his mother, La La Anthony, for the first time.

The pair share a close relationship, and during an interview with "Athlon Sports" on Thursday, La La revealed how she felt about being parted from her son for the first time in their lives.

"It makes me really sad, but I'm glad Syracuse is still in New York," La La said. "It's a five-hour drive and a 45-minute flight, so I'll be there as much as I can. I try not to think about it too much because it does make me sad. He's my only child, so I'm gonna miss him so much. But I'm glad that he's close enough that I can get there when I need to."

La La underscored the point by revealing her pride at her son's achievements in basketball, which have seen him ranked by ESPN as the No. 1 player in New York in the class of 2025.

"I mean, it's a great feeling," La La said. "We always told him growing up to do what makes you happy, like no pressure to be a basketball player, no pressure to have to do anything like that, just follow your heart. He just happened to love basketball and, over the years, became really great at it. It's just amazing to see him follow his passion and his discipline."

Kiyan Anthony will have big shoes to fill with the Syracuse Orange, where his father is a legend after helping them to win the national championship in 2003 and being named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.