Carmelo Anthony Opens Up to Son Kiyan About One of the Biggest Creative Risks of His Career

All too often, people retire and no longer have a direction or a purpose. We see it all the time with athletes, who no longer have an outlet for all the competitive juices that made them great in the first place, after they walk away from the game.

Carmelo Anthony is not one of those people. The 2025 Hall of Fame inductee had a legendary career, leading Syracuse to the national title as a college freshman in 2003, then burnishing his reputation as one of the best scorers in the game over 19 NBA seasons.

Since retiring in 2022, Carmelo has stayed busy. His 7PM in Brooklyn podcast is a huge hit, and in February, he was named as a studio analyst for the NBA on NBC, which will return in the fall as part of the NBA’s newest media rights deal.

Carmelo’s son Kiyan appeared on 7PM in Brooklyn this week. He and his dad discussed some creative risks that they’ve taken in their lives. Kiyan spoke about One Way Clothing, his brand that blew up after he decided to share it to his personal page.

He then turned the question back on Melo, who got honest about the fact that if he wasn’t forward-thinking, his post-retirement life wouldn’t be nearly as successful. “If I didn’t have things and ideas and concepts and the vision, then it would have been all bad after [retirement],” he said.

“Creatively, going out there and doing it on my own, with my own team, and not having any backing on anything that I’m doing. I took that risk. I didn’t take the traditional path, and that’s a creative risk to take.”

It’s certainly paid off, as 7PM in Brooklyn has exploded in popularity thanks to its candid conversations with some of the biggest names in sports and pop culture.

Kiyan preiously appeared on his dad’s podcast to announce his college decision on the air back in November. In a proud father-son moment, he committed to Melo’s alma mater Syracuse, where he’ll be a freshman this season.

Between traveling to Cuse to see his son’s games, hosting the podcast and commentating for NBC, Melo is going to be a busy man. He also has numerous other business ventures, including his own cannabis brand, a media production company and a wine label. He owns Puerto Rico FC, an NASL franchise, and has expressed an interest in buying into the Washington Wizards ownership group.

Melo may have retired from playing basketball, but he’s busier than he’s ever been.