Talking about Kiyan Anthony's newest venture, Carmelo Anthony shares words of wisdom about his retirement
Kiyan Anthony was the guest on the latest episode of Instagram’s original series “Close Friends Only", appearing alongside his father, NBA legend Carmelo Anthony.
During the episode, released on Monday, the father-son duo spoke about Kiyan’s newest venture, leading to Carmelo offering some words of wisdom drawn from his post-basketball experience.
The conversation began with Carmelo asking his son about a moment when he took a creative risk that eventually paid off. Kiyan spoke about launching his clothing brand, One Way Clothings, and how he made a smart decision that changed everything for him.
“I decided to do a collab post with my main page and my brand page, and they got like almost 1,000,000 views,” Kiyan said. “I got a lot of followers. So after I did that, I realized, 'Oh, people actually want to see the clothes. They actually want to buy the clothes and interact with them.'”
After Kiyan shared his success, he flipped the question on his father, asking Carmelo for a personal example of creative risk. The former NBA All-Star reflected on his decision to retire and explained why it was a defining moment in his life.
“Retiring early,” Carmelo replied before elaborating. “Because if I didn’t have things, and ideas, and concepts, and vision, then it would have been all bad after that, right?
“But the fact that, you know, I had to get over retirement, but then, step into the real world, and step into a mindset of figuring out what I wanted to do, and how I wanted to do it. And creatively going out there and doing it on my own, and with my own team, and not having any backing on anything that I’m doing."
He added:
“So that risk, you know, I didn’t take the traditional path. And that’s a creative risk to take.”
Carmelo retired from basketball in May 2023, and since stepping away from the game, he has focused on creative projects, fashion ventures and his production company, Creative 7.
Kiyan Anthony’s mom La La proud to see son follow Carmelo’s basketball path
In an exclusive interview with Athlon Sports in May, Kiyan Anthony’s mother, La La Anthony, shared her pride in watching her son follow in the footsteps of his father, NBA great Carmelo Anthony.
"I mean, it's a great feeling,” she said. “We always told him growing up to do what makes you happy, like no pressure to be a basketball player, no pressure to have to do anything like that, just follow your heart.
"He just happened to love basketball and, over the years, became really great at it. It's just amazing to see him follow his passion and his discipline."
Now one of the most exciting young prospects in the country, Kiyan has steadily grown into his own name in the basketball world. The talented guard is currently ranked No. 35 on ESPN’s Top 100 list for the class of 2025 and is expected to carve out his own successful career.