Carmelon Anthony and his son, Kiyan, and LeBron James and his son, Bronny (image credit: instagram/kiyananthony, instagram/kingjames)
NBA legend Carmelo Anthony’s son, Kiyan Anthony, has made a splash in various tournaments to push himself into the 2026 NBA Draft even before choosing a college team to join. The 17-year-old was recently named the No. 1 player in New York in the class of 2025 according to ESPN.
During an interview posted by Overtime on July 7, Anthony made some comments that went viral about a hypothetical matchup pitting himself and his father in one team against LeBron James and his son Bronny James.
“I think Bron and Bronny would win, to be honest,” Anthony said. “Just because Bron is still in the league. He’s still doing what he doing. But it will be a close game, I feel like it will be like 11-8 or 11-7.”
“I’m going to remember this,” Carmelo replied to the post on X.
Kiyan Anthony, who has teamed up with Bryce James before, seemed to backtrack on his earlier prediction about the outcome of the two-versus-two matchup. He gave his new take during Tuesday’s episode of the “7 PM in Brooklyn” podcast.
“[1:13:00] I think we could win, I think we could win,” Anthony said.
Kiyan Anthony praises connections to father’s alma mater
Carmelo Anthony is a Syracuse Orange legend after he led the program to the 2003 national championship. His son, Kiyan Anthony, has naturally been linked with a move to the program as he decides which school to join.
During a recent interview with On3, Kiyan Anthony revealed the connections that he has to his father’s alma mater and current coach Adrian Autry.
“Syracuse has a young core on the team now. And I learned a lot about the coaches and their vision. They’re very together, I mean they’re still trying to figure everything out. The team is switching to coach (Adrian Autry’s identity, switching from the zone to man to man,” Anthony said.
“They’re still recruiting hard, trying to put together the 2024 and the 2025 classes. When I speak with the coaches, they let me know the vision. The type of players they’re recruiting and who all they think will be around. I liked all the stuff I heard from them.”
Whichever school he opts to join, Kiyan Anthony will attract a lot of attention from college basketball fans as he could be the next legacy prospect to make it to the NBA.