There is an unspoken rule in families that you should consider your relative the best in whatever they do. That’s called unconditional support. However, Kiyan Anthony, son of Carmelo Anthony, still needs to get that memo.
The teenager and his mother, La La Anthony, were being interviewed recently when they were asked who is the GOAT basketball player. La La gave the appropriate motherly answer by saying her son, Kiyan, a Long Island Lutheran High School shooting guard, is her GOAT.
“Cause for nine months of my life, I threw up every single day, nine times a day,” La La said during Complex’s “GOAT Talk” interview with the couple. “Laid on a cold bathroom floor because I had the worst and most difficult pregnancy ever. That is why seeing you now on the court and being so amazing you make your Mom so proud and you are my GOAT basketball player.
Unfortunately for La La, her son was not on the family bond train and kept it too real with his answer.
“My GOAT is Paul George, the best player ever. Kobe, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony…”
“The fact that you didn’t say your Dad first is crazy to me.” La La said, shocked, and even threw her cue cards at Kiyan in disbelief.
Kiyan was unrepentant.
“Obviously, the GOAT has levels to it. He don’t even got to be talked about,” Kiyan said with a “Captain Obvious” tone with his mother. Later, he alluded to his father’s lack of a ring, like his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Paul George, he never won an NBA championship.
Kiyan Anthony is a 6-foot-4, 186-pound shooting guard from Middle Village, New York. As part of the high school class of 2025, Anthony has taken a few college visits and has shown interest in attending 18 colleges per 247 Sports. When he visited Syracuse with his father last October, the sports world became excited about the possibility of him attending his father’s alma mater.
The elder Anthony won a championship as a freshman in 2003, and he was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, Second Team All-American by The Associated Press as a freshman and becoming the consensus Freshman of the Year pick all in the same year. As a pro, Melo’s list of accomplishments is vast as a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, an NBA scoring title, and much more.
Arguably more considerable accomplishments than Paul George.
The young Anthony is one of the crop of children of former professional athletes who are being watched closely by the fans and media. With Bronny James at the top of the list in transitioning from high school to college basketball, Shedeur Sanders owned 2023, even with a losing season in collegiate football.
Both father and son are competitive with each other, with Kiyan posting a TikTok video last month saying if they were both 16 years old, he could get the best of his father.
“See the disrespect, see how he disrespect?” Melo responded during an episode of his podcast “7PM In Brooklyn.” “Are you sh*tting me? I’m f*king with the fact that he believes that, and he exudes that confidence, calm too, like, usually at this age, you ask a question, it’s like immediate; this means you’ve been thinking.
“So, no, f**k outta here, Kiy. Sorry, you know I’m speaking to my son. I don’t want to curse at you, but f**k out of here, and also, he got some sh*t at 16 that I wouldn’t even fathom of doing at 16.”
See, Kiyan, that’s how you still support your family while having an adverse opinion, but in the world of GOATs, Carmelo Anthony is No. 3 to his son.
