Kiyan Anthony, like many college freshmen, is getting a crash course this winter in independence. In his first season with Syracuse, Kiyan has learned in recent months that #adulting is hard and, for the most part, overrated.
“I mean, shoot, I gotta walk my dog four times a day!” Kiyan said.
Is that something his mom did for him back home in New York City?
“No, we had a person,” he said sheepishly. Then he laughed.
He knows how absurd it sounds, and what outsiders might think: That the only child of a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer probably grew up pampered in a Brooklyn brownstone, waited on and given any and everything he desired. That the son of Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse’s most celebrated alum who led the Orange to their only NCAA Tournament title more than two decades ago, was raised assuming he’d follow in his father’s famed footsteps, destined for his own basketball glory and the accolades that go with it.
Hardly. Sure, Kiyan had a dog-walker — many New Yorkers do — but his parents, Carmelo and La La Anthony, told their son from day one that if he wanted something, he’d have to work for it.
A ranking as one of the best basketball players in the country? That wouldn’t be handed to him.
A college scholarship? Also not guaranteed.
In May 2023, when Carmelo announced his retirement via Instagram video, he told a then 15-year-old Kiyan, “my legacy, it’s in you, the time has come for you to carry this torch.” Kiyan became one of the top recruits in the country two years later — No. 34 overall in the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite — and gathered a host of college offers. He ultimately picked Cuse over finalists Auburn and USC, understanding the decision would come with constant comparisons to Carmelo.
Kiyan has never shied from the spotlight that accompanies his dad. At the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in September, it was Kiyan who slipped the orange jacket over Carmelo’s broad shoulders for the first time. In his acceptance speech, Carmelo encouraged his son to be relentless in the pursuit of his dreams.
Kiyan knew exactly what he was getting into by picking Syracuse.
“A lot of people would have shunned that opportunity, they would have stepped away from that pressure,” La La told The Athletic. “He leaned in.”
La La Anthony and Carmelo Anthony are constant supporters of their son Kiyan, in his first season at Syracuse. (Rich Barnes / Getty Images)
La La, an actress and reality TV personality, takes tremendous pride in watching her only child blossom, particularly given the publicity surrounding him. She’s proud of what he’s done on the court, though his growth off the court is notable, too, she said.
Since moving out of his mom’s house, Kiyan has perfected doing his own laundry, grocery shopping in bulk and cooking a variety of meals (he specializes in breakfast). Learning to juggle classes, basketball practice and keeping his house clean came with a few false starts.
“The first two weeks were a little messy, I’m not gonna lie,” Kiyan said, shaking his head. “Living on your own, you gotta create a schedule and have some time management. If you fall behind, it’s not good. And I didn’t realize how much (utility) bills cost — it’s expensive to heat your house!”
As for navigating the pressure that comes from being “Melo’s kid” while forging his own path, well, that’s a work in progress. Just like life on the court.
Kiyan comes off the bench for Syracuse and coach Adrian Autry, averaging 10.6 points in 22 minutes a game, a solid contributor for a team trying to find its footing. The Orange have surprised this season (knocking off a ranked Tennessee team in early December) and looked flat-out bad (a one-point loss to Hofstra two weeks later).
Syracuse post-Carmelo — he played only one season before departing for the NBA — has mostly been a letdown. After winning the 2003 national championship, the Orange have advanced past the Sweet 16 just three times in the past 22 years and only once since 2013, falling to North Carolina in the 2016 national semifinals. They’ve missed the postseason entirely the past five years.
The hope is that Kiyan, with his basketball-strong DNA, can lead them back to glory. But that is an unfair, and potentially unrealistic, expectation given Carmelo’s accomplishments. Arguably the greatest one-and-done player in college hoops history, Carmelo led the Orange in points, rebounds and minutes played as a freshman, a key piece of retired coach Jim Boeheim’s famed 2-3 zone defense that topped Kansas in the 2003 title game.
Kiyan knows “more is expected of you when the name Anthony is on the back of your jersey,” but also that father and son are decidedly different players. Carmelo, at 6 feet 7, 240 pounds, was a gritty power forward. Kiyan is a wiry, 6-5, 185-pound guard who prefers more of a finesse game.
That their skill sets, and career arcs, might not match doesn’t worry Dad.
“You gotta remember, this is a kid who’s been dealing with pressure since he’s been born, with my career and his mom’s career,” Carmelo said. “Now it’s about basketball, and believing in yourself and the work you put in. At the end of the day, he knows how to play. He’s a very intelligent player, he’s young and this is a process — he understands that and we understand that.”
In other words, no one in Kiyan’s life is telling him he needs to follow in Carmelo’s exact footsteps and get drafted at 19 years old.
But Carmelo acknowledges this is what he envisioned the first time he held his son in his arms just four years after leading his school to a championship — Kiyan in a Syracuse jersey.
Kiyan wasn’t sure it was possible though. Sure, he grew up attending Syracuse games and had a framed No. 15 Orange jersey in his bedroom. But he wondered if he’d ever actually be good enough to play Division I.
He considered other sports, but baseball bored him and football was forbidden. (“I found a football team online, put on a helmet, and my mom took it right off,” he recalled.) When COVID-19 hit and shut down the country in spring 2020, Kiyan had nothing to do but basketball. He and La La moved across the country to stay with Carmelo — his parents separated in 2017 and divorced in 2021 — who was based in Portland and playing for the Blazers. Carmelo coached, Kiyan practiced and La La rebounded.
“I wouldn’t say that time made me fall in love with the game, but it did make me lock in,” Kiyan said. “During COVID, all you could do was play video games and go to the gym.”
Carmelo Anthony has plenty of advice for son Kiyan Anthony. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
That dedication didn’t translate to instant results. Kiyan joked that even as an eighth grader “I couldn’t really score.” Carmelo preached patience, assuring Kiyan his time would come. He said the same to La La.
“His dad would always tell me, ‘It’s all gonna click, be patient,’ and I’d be like, ‘OK but when?!’” La La recalled. “And when it finally did it was like, ‘Oh shoot, everything Melo said was right!’ That was one of the best feelings, watching it all come together for Kiyan. That’s when I realized oh, this could really be a thing, he could really be a player.”
The shift took place the summer between Kiyan’s sophomore and junior years. Suddenly, Kiyan could put into action everything Carmelo told him: small ways to give himself advantages over defenders, passes that could set up a big score, tricks to reading the ball off the rim.
“I made that jump, and it’s like, everything my dad said came true,” Kiyan said.
Now Carmelo can be seen at every Syracuse game, chattering constantly to Kiyan and his teammates. He peppers Kiyan with advice before, after and during games. (“I mean, he’s pretty good, so I suppose I should listen to him,” Kiyan said.) La La and Carmelo are sideline staples, criss-crossing the country to make sure Kiyan always has at least one of them in the crowd.
Picking Syracuse, Kiyan said, wasn’t purely about legacy. Being close to family — the drive from Syracuse to Brooklyn is about four hours — was key. Kiyan purposely keeps his circle small. When he’s home, Kiyan always hangs with the same crowd: his mom, his girlfriend and his buddies from high school. Seeing his dog is also a priority. La La kept Seven (named after the New York Knicks jersey worn by Carmelo) in Brooklyn, though Kiyan has a rottweiler puppy named Scarlett on campus with him. Sometimes, he said, he needs a break from basketball and brand-building — and the pressure that comes with it.
“College basketball can weigh heavy on you,” he said. “I try to go home, see my family and friends, get that peace of mind and just feel like a kid again. Even if I just go home one night to see my mom, that’s worth it.”
La La is particularly attuned to Kiyan’s mood.
“I tell him all the time, ‘I know it’s a lot, the pressure on you, but I don’t know exactly what it’s like: I can’t relate to growing up with two celebrity parents, I don’t know what it’s like to look in the crowd and everyone has your dad’s jersey on. I’m relying on you to tell me how I can help.’”
She reminds him constantly that while what the first Anthony did at Syracuse was “iconic,” Kiyan is his own person and his own player. And this season isn’t about emerging from Carmelo’s shadow so much as starting to put his own unique stamp on the program.