“I have some similarities to him”: Kiyan Anthony explains why Paul George is his favorite player

Syracuse Orange commit Kiyan Anthony is ramping up for his freshman season of college basketball later this year. The son of NBA legend Carmelo Anthony is wrapping up his final year of high school hoops with Long Island Lutheran High School, where he's a four-star recruit and is ranked 35th nationally.

On Thursday, Kiyan Anthony, one of the HS prospects featured on NBA x Nike Air Time on YouTube, was asked by host and Team USA basketball AmeriCup Qualifying coach Stephen Silas about his favorite player. Anthony took the name of Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George.

"That's been my favorite player since a long time, since he was in the playoffs against the Heat. So, I just looked up to him like I feel like I have some similarities to him. I just love the way he plays," Anthony said. (19:02)

The two then turned their attention to the TV screen wherein they watched a couple of clips of George, mostly revolving around his stepback move that Anthony is a big fan of and uses a lot.

"The stepback start with the contact. So, watching PG create the contact first to get the seperation, that's where it's really effective. 'Cause if you just step back, the defender not going to go nowhere. But, you can see like he really tries to get into the body first. I feel like that's what makes it effective," Anthony broke odown George's stepback. (19:24)

Kiyan Anthony is now looking ahead for a hopeful outstanding rookie campaign in Syracuse, as his father, Carmelo, is arguably the best product of the program, leading the Orange to their only national championship in 2003.

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Kiyan Anthony names his father, Carmelo, as his favorite Team USA player

While being one of the headliners of this year's Nike Hoop Summit showcase that has some of the world's best high school level players come together and compete, Kiyan Anthony named his father, NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, as his favorite player to have donned the Team USA jersey. In a video posted by @nbafuturestartsnow on Instagram, Kiyan said.

"His performance, he knows how to sacrifice his game and he just, utilized all his skills and he helped them win. He holds one of the most gold medals, you know. That's my pops, he the best one," the younger Anthony said.

Carmelo is known by many to be one of the best Team USA players ever, as he won three Olympic gold medals in men's basketball. Paul George, Kiyan's favorite player, also suited up for the country, doing so in the 2016 Rio Olympics alongside Carmelo.