“Mamba Mentality”: Kobe Bryant’s Wife Vanessa Hypes Up Carmelo Anthony’s Son For Balling On Team USA in $180 ‘Halo Kicks’

Tonoy Sengupta | 09/10/2023
"Mamba Mentality": Kobe Bryant's Wife Vanessa Hypes Up Carmelo Anthony's Son For Balling On Team USA in $180 'Halo Kicks'

Kiyan Anthony, the son of NBA great, Carmelo Anthony, has recently been representing Team USA’s Junior Basketball teams in tournaments recently. Having received quite a bit of hype from his father already, the 16-year-old now has the wife of Kobe Bryant, Vanessa Bryant cheering him on too. She recently took to Instagram to not only support the young man but also highlight that he was doing his business while wearing the Nike Kobe 8 Protros in the $180-worth ‘Halo’ colorway.

Vanessa Bryant hypes up Kiyan Anthony on Instagram

Kiyan Anthony has been making serious progress with his game. He has already been flagged as one of the standouts of an already talented Junior Team USA. Watching this, Vanessa Bryant seems beyond happy that he was choosing to do it in a pair of Nike Kobe Protros. Sharing a picture of him on Instagram from a Team USA practice, the wife of Kobe Bryant made sure to highlight the sneakers he was wearing as well.

“TEAM USA!!!!!! [Pointing at his sneakers] Mamba Mentality”

The model Kiyan Anthony is wearing in the picture is the Nike Kobe 8 Protro in the ‘Halo’ colorway, as mentioned previously. It retailed for $180 and was released for sale on August 23rd, 2023. Given the popularity of Kobe Bryant, it was no surprise how popular the sneakers were upon release. Even Carmelo Anthony’s 16-year-old son has chosen them as his sneaker of choice.

The sneakers the younger Anthony wears for Team USA can be very important. However, the fact that he is playing on it at all represents a full-circle moment for his old man.

Carmelo Anthony admits watching his son play on Junior Team USA is a full-circle moment

Kiyan Anthony isn’t the only one in the family who has played for Team USA’s Junior Basketball Team. A long time ago, his father did it too, starring on the team during his time on it and cementing himself as one of the greats in USA Basketball history. With that on his mind, the former NBA star sat down for an interview to explain how he felt.

“I mean it’s full circle. Thinking back in 2001, when I was here on this court, starting out. I was a 15-16 year old kid. To have the history I have with the USABT, and Team USA, it brings it back full circle.”

Anthony also admitted that he was a fan of all the kids playing, and spent a lot of time with them. So, perhaps his full circle moment could be the source of important advice for these kids. And in the end, who knows? Fans could have the pleasure of watching a far more dominant generation of NBA players than ever before.

Post Edited By: Samir Mehdi
Carmelo Anthony Kiyan Anthony Kobe Bryant Team USA Vanessa Bryant

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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