Carmelo Anthony’s son, Kiyan Anthony, is slowly becoming a star in his own right. He has also started making podcast appearances and giving interviews. During a recent one with Overtime, the 17-year-old was asked who he would pick between Jalen Brunson and Damian Lillard. While this would be puzzling for many, Kiyan comfortably picked the Knicks star over Dame. He also provided the reason behind his answer.
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Kiyan said that based on the current performances of both stars, he would be inclined to pick Brunson. However, if he were to choose between them in their respective prime, Dame would be his go-to player. The 17-year-old added that Lillard in his prime was a much better overall player than Brunson.
However, he believes that currently, the Knicks star is in his prime, and that is why it is fair to give him the edge over the Bucks star. Kiyan said, “Would this be considered Jalen Brunson’s prime? Yeah, I’m taking Jalen Brunson.”
Brunson’s recent form seems to have made a massive impact on Melo’s son. In addition, there can be one more reason why the 17-year-old is inclined towards Brunson for his pick.
Kiyan Anthony on choosing between Dame Lillard or Jalen Brunson
“I’ve been to mad Knicks games bro….Jalen Brunson….he’s like that…like it’s OD bro.” pic.twitter.com/xuEva66aaE
— Big Knick Energy (@BigKnickEnergy_) June 11, 2024
Kiyan was born in 2007 when his dad was in Denver. However, Melo moved to New York in 2011 and spent six years of his career playing for the Knicks. That could have been the age when Kiyan started taking a serious interest in the sport and the Knicks were the team that he supported.
He said, “I’ve been to mad Knicks games, bro. Jalen Brunson, he’s like that.” Even without that assumption, Brunson’s performance this season was enough to shoot up his rankings on anyone’s list.
Jalen Brunson had a brilliant playoff run this year
The Knicks struggled with a lot of injuries in their camp this year. As a result, they couldn’t move past the Conference Semifinals. Despite that, Brunson shouldered the team on his own in their playoff run.
According to Stat Muse, the 27-year-old averaged 32.4 points, 7.5 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in 13 games. He shot 44.4% from the field and 31% from the three-point line. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough help for him to take his team to the Finals,
Dame, on the other hand, struggled with a massive change after he moved from Portland to Milwaukee. The Bucks also fired Adrian Griffin and replaced him with Doc Rivers in the middle of the season.
On top of that, Lillard couldn’t find his rhythm during the season as he was playing alongside a superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo. These events took a toll on his first season with the Bucks.
