It was back in November when Kiyan Anthony revealed he would be following in his father’s footsteps. Carmelo Anthony played his only year of college basketball for Syracuse before forging his career in the NBA. There will be pressure on him from the get-go, as his father brought the championship to the program. That’s why his #15 hangs in the rafters, which led to his son choosing another number that had Melo’s approval.
“My dad’s name on the facility is special, but I want to go in there and create my own name.” The 18-year-old was very confident about creating his own legacy. Since his father’s No. 15 jersey was retired in 2013, ten years after winning a national championship with Syracuse in 2003. The question was what number would the four-star recruit and the top-ranked player in New York for the class of 2025 choose? And the answer is #7.
Carmelo Anthony wore the No. 7 for 10 seasons in the NBA, most notably during seven seasons with the New York Knicks when he was an All-Star every year and finished in the top 3 in MVP voting. Kiyan’s decision to wear No. 7 earned his father’s approval on Instagram. “DAMN!!! That 7 hits different at Cuse.” A few months ago, the 10x All-Star also revealed what number his son should wear in order to establish his own legacy.
“You know mom (La La Anthony) keep saying carve out your own lane. 15 is in the rafters. Seven is new. You get what I’m saying? Like go carve that seven out over there,” Melo reintroduced La La’s words to him. Speaking about La La Anthony, her reaction to her son leaving for his collegiate journey has made her emotional. The mother and son have always been close, safe to say, each other’s support system.
“She’s already crying every day,” Kiyan said on the “Close Friends Only” podcast (as per PEOPLE). But the best thing is, Kiyan understands her pain, and is “trying to spend a lot of time with her before I leave.” He will begin his new journey with a lot of expectations. But was there any other jersey number in his mind?
The reason behind Kiyan honoring Carmelo Anthony’s legacy
“15 is retired. I’m not gonna take that away from my dad.” When Kiyan and his mother joined Melo on his podcast, 7 PM Brooklyn, the 18-year-old revealed his college destination to be his father’s alma mater. When asked about his jersey number, the Long Island Lutheran guard mentioned two options he was considering. But neither of them involved wearing the #15.
No. 3 (his current high school number) and No. 7 are the numbers he has in mind. “I got two either three or seven,” Kiyan said. When asked about the reason behind the number selection, he said, “I wear three right now in high school, so I like three that’s my favorite number and then seven my birthday on March 7th. He(Melo) was 7.”
His final season for Long Island Lutheran was a successful one, and he would hope to continue that momentum at Syracuse. LuHi had an 18-game winning streak once their star player was back from injury in January. The Crusaders went on to win the Throne Hoops national title and yet he was not being selected as a McDonald’s All-American. But that one disappointment didn’t last long. As Kiyan became a Jordan Brand All-American and won MVP honors in the Jordan Brand Classic in April.
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