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Gilbert Arenas' comments on Kiyan Anthony elicit reactions from him and mom La La Anthony

Modified Apr 04, 2025 14:29 GMT

Kiyan Anthony and his mom, Lala Anthony, responded to Gilbert Arenas’ comments on the high school star missing out on this year’s McDonald’s All-American game. Kiyan was not invited to the prestigious event that pits the best young talent in the country against one another.

The 32nd overall prospect in the class of 2025 (as per ESPN) was not among the 24 players selected for the Boys’ competition despite his impressive performances in his senior year. Arenas thought that the omission of Kiyan, who is trying to follow in the footsteps of his NBA legend father, Carmelo Anthony, after committing to Syracuse University, was not a wise decision, especially since the game was held in Brooklyn, New York.

Arenas, whose son Alijah represented the West in the tournament, took to his Instagram account to express his view on the matter.

“Kiyan 'The King of New York' Anthony was not invited to the McDonald’s All-American game in New York. Like, I get the semantics, I get it, it’s all about ranking and where you are, but come on y'all, you know how to squeeze s*** around. You’ve been doing it for years, squeeze it through change some names," Arenas said in a video shared on his Instagram page no.chill.gil.

Arenas’ comment did get the attention of Kiyan and even his mother, La La Anthony, who both replied to the post by thanking Arenas for the support.

“preciate you unc!,” Anthony replied to Arenas’ post.

“Appreciate you!,” La La added.

Lala Anthony and Kiyan Anthony react to Gilbert Arenas' comments. (Image by Instagram/no.chill.gil)

Arenas also admitted that he has advised Alijah to stay away from Kiyan after the recent snub. The three-time NBA All-Star seemed pretty confident that if the Long Island Lutheran High School star was anything like his father, he would now be going on a rampage to seek his revenge.

Kiyan Anthony ends high school career on a high as he heads to his Father’s alma mater

Despite missing out on the McDonald’s All-American Boys game, Anthony can be proud of how his high school career ended.

The 6-foot-5 shooting guard drew the curtains with a strong showing at the championship game of the Throne National High School Tournament.

Anthony led Long Island Lutheran (Luhi) to the title after dropping 25 points on a 9-for-15 shooting against Allen. His performance helped him win the MVP honours.

With his high school career now done, Anthony will turn his attention to college basketball. Anthony chose Syracuse for obvious reasons, ahead of Auburn, Florida State, Ohio State, Rutgers and USC, with all colleges making an offer for the four-star recruit.

It will be interesting to see if he really goes on a revenge arc for Syracuse as Arenas predicted.

About the author

Oluwajoba is a High School Sports writer with more than eight years of experience in the field. Oluwajoba is a graduate of Agricultural Economics and Extension from the Federal University of Technology Akure.

Oluwajoba has written for publications such as Soccernet and Pulsesports (as Chief Editor and Managing Editor) and was nominated for Football Journalist of the Year in 2019.

While he is a Dallas Mavericks fan, mainly due to Luka Doncic, Oluwajoba's favorite sporting moment came when LeBron James helped the Cleveland Cavaliers get past the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.

When not at work or watching sports, Oluwajoba can likely be found enjoying a movie.

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