"On the court, [we're] no friends": Carmelo Anthony's son Kiyan Anthony once talked about the competitive spirit between the father-son duo

Carmelo Anthony has played various roles in the life of his son Kiyan Anthony—a role model, a mentor, and a friend. But Kiyan shared that the two are not friendly on the court.

In the July 2023 episode of Overtime, “I’m Not Just An NBA Player’s Son,” the high school basketball sensation shared his on-court relationship with his father:

"We always push each other and stuff like that. Even though we best friends off the court on the court of course (we're) no friends."

The episode showed the father-son duo undergoing rigorous training sessions. Melo was seen taking a keen interest in teaching his son the tricks of the trade.

Since then, Kiyan has taken giant strides in his high school basketball career. 247Sports ranked Kiyan as a Top 50 recruit in the 2025 college basketball recruiting cycle.

In the Nike Peach Jam tournament, Kiyan Anthony averaged 21.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists. In the game against Mac Irvin Fire, Anthony dropped 40 points.

Carmelo Anthony's off-court battles with Kiyan Anthony

The father-son duo wants to keep their on-court encounters turbulent. But its effects often spill over into the media too.

In the 'Gold Minds with Kevin Hart' podcast in September 2023, the host teased Melo after he saw Kiyan scoring against him.

Carmelo Anthony tried to take it calmly and narrated how Kiyan reacted when he beat his father.

“I put [Kiyan] through situations and see if he can score … But I love it. I love the fact that he was able to [score on me], because if you really observe that video, he felt like, ‘I made it.’ And I felt that for him.”

“For so long he would never try to, like, play serious. He’ll be laughing and joking, and he’ll just throw up any shot. But at that point I said, ‘Alright, you got two points.’ And he scored.

And I saw him run out the gym with just excitement, and I knew he felt like, ‘F*** that, I beat my dad. I don’t care what nobody says, I beat my dad,'” he added.

In a TikTok video, Kiyan was asked if he would beat a 16-year-old Carmelo. The response from Kiyan surprised many.

“I’m frying him," the high school basketball star said. “He wasn’t nice until he was 17.”

Melo, who won gold medals at the Olympics for the USA basketball team, was also surprised. Later, he took it calmly and appreciated the confidence exuded by his son in his "7PM in Brooklyn" podcast.

What do you think about the on-court and off-court relationships of Kiyan Anthony and Melo? Let us know in the comments section below.