The popularity of the NCAA Tournament has led to great excitement toward the 2026 NBA Draft. Among the brighter prospects is Syracuse freshman Kiyan Anthony, who despite not having a stellar season remains confident about getting better. His father, NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, recently broke down the pivotal steps needed for Kiyan’s development.
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Coming out of high school, Anthony was a four-star recruit and the 32nd-ranked prospect in the nation according to 247 Sports. There was no doubt that he possesses the potential to be a competent player on the professional level. However, scouts understood that it may take some time before he reaches that stage, and his freshman season proved them right.
Kiyan followed in his father’s footsteps by committing to Syracuse University. He began the season coming off the bench and even fell out of the team’s rotation at one point. He would go on to finish his freshman season averaging 8.0 points and 1.4 rebounds per game on 39.9% shooting from the field.
The year may not have gone the way Kiyan would’ve hoped for, but he showed flashes of some real potential. He posted 19 points in a game and had multiple 18-point performances, which has led Carmelo to believe he only needs to sort a few things out.
“He plays the right way,” Carmelo said on 7 PM in Brooklyn. “The elephant in the room was, ‘You’ve got to get stronger.’ But he’s 18-years-old. He’s going to get there.”
One of the main reasons Kiyan began to lose minutes was because of his defensive deficiencies, which stemmed from his frail frame. Collegiate talent is much different than high school, and players are significantly stronger.
That is certainly an area which Kiyan has to improve, but he does have traits which Carmelo is a big fan of. Those traits mainly are on the offensive end.
“[He’s a] shooter. Just because you score doesn’t mean you can shoot. I think the IQ don’t get enough credit for him. Those would be his attributes,” Anthony proclaimed.
Of course, those are great skills to have, but are those enough to make the jump to the NBA? Anthony didn’t outright denounce his son’s ability to be one-and-done, but the writing is on the wall that there is more to come for Kiyan in college.
Following Kiyan’s benching against Virginia in February, Carmelo commented on a post revealing there’s no panic from the family amidst the setback.
“He’ll be good!” Anthony wrote. “They say it’s part of the journey. A little adversity don’t hurt.”
Of course, Kiyan’s future is in his own hands. If he wants to declare for the 2026 NBA Draft, he can certainly do so but the incentive to rush the process isn’t as high as it once was.
The NIL era has allowed athletes to earn, in some cases, more in college than they would as a professional. Regardless, Kiyan has the right support system around him to make the right decision for his career, whether that’s remaining in college or moving on to the next level.
