"Now he's fully dedicated to me": When Carmelo Anthony's son Kiyan Anthony opened up on the impact of his dad's retirement from the NBA 

In September 2023, Kiyan Anthony, the son of Carmelo Anthony, explained how his dad’s retirement from the NBA was a good thing for him. Carmelo announced his retirement after playing for 19 seasons in the NBA and revealed his decision to retire via a video shared on social media.

"Now the time has come for me to say goodbye ... to the game that gave me purpose and pride," Carmelo said.

Although the decision to retire did not come as a surprise as he was 39 then, one of the reasons why Carmelo decided to retire was to focus on his son, Kiyan. Kiyan then came out months later to explain how his dad’s retirement helped him:

“Him finally retiring and being able to support me, it’s a great feeling. I’m ready to take on the challenge and step into the shoes I need to fill,” Kiyan told Overtime in 2023.

“His retirement being in the middle of the EYBL session and me doing what I’m doing, it was just a great feeling. Now, he’s fully dedicated to me. He could go to every tournament, he could go to every camp and really be locked in on what I want to do."

“He kind of surprised me with the retirement video being dedicated to me. It was really like like oh wow, he believes in me. He really thinks I could do this,” Kiyan added.

It appears Kiyan Anthony is right in his assessment as Carmelo has been locked in on him since announcing his retirement. The 10-time NBA all-star has attended almost all his son’s games and played a major role in his decision to commit to Syracuse.

Kiyan Anthony wants to be his own man, not the next Carmelo Anthony

Despite appreciating his dad’s dedication to his career and following his footsteps by committing to Syracuse, Kiyan Anthony wants to create his own path. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard, who currently has a NIL value of $1.1 million, wants to be himself and not the next Carmelo.

“The biggest difference between me and my dad is that he was a straight-up bucket, a straight-up bully. He could score on you at will. I have scoring ability and I can create for others," Kiyan told ESPN.

While the comparisons will never go away because of who his dad is, Kiyan Anthony is already making a name for himself. The Long Island Lutheran scholar was one of the best players at Nike’s EYBL, averaging 19.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game over a stretch of 15 games.

Anthony had one of the best performances of his young career against Team Final (PA) and Houston Hoops (TX), scoring 29 and 28 points against them, respectively.

The No. 35 prospect On3’s list for the class of 2025 also had a great showing at the NBPA Top 100 camp in Orlando last summer. Kiyan Anthony averaged 28.5 points per game across eight games, including 42 points on 15-of-28 4-of-9 from deep against the Mac Irvin Fire.