Stephen A.Smith compares Carmelo Anthony's son Kiyan Anthony to LeBron James' son Bronny James: "There's no one out there who expects him to fail"

Being the son of an NBA superstar can be tough, and Kiyan Anthony knows that all too well. He is constantly being compared not just to his father, Carmelo Anthony, but also to the sons of other NBA superstars like Bryce and Bronny James, sons of LA Lakers star LeBron James.

NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith talked about Kiyan on the Nov. 26 episode of "The Stephan A. Smith Show." He looked at the younger Anthony's big announcement that he will be going to Syracuse. Smith then praised Kiyan Anthony and said that he has heard great things about the four-star guard.

Then, Smith spoke about the inevitable NBA talk and Bronny James comparisons.

"All of these months, we've been hearing Bronny James, Bronny James, Bronny James. When have you heard about Kiyan, particularly out of the mouth of Carmelo Anthony?" pointed Stephen A. Smith out.

"A matter of fact, when you heard Carmelo Anthony, you know what you heard from Carmelo Anthony when people were asking him whether his son was going to go pro or not a few months ago. He said, 'I don't wanna hear that s**t.' He said that brother got to get on his game, be on his grind and figure out what college he's going to go to." (27:07-27:35)

The veteran analyst then praised Carmelo Anthony and his ex, La La, for raising Kiyan well. This then leads to the insider saying that, unlike Bronny, nobody is talking much about Kiyan Anthony because Carmelo made sure it was that way.

"Not only does he look forward to the championship, not only is he looking forward to the challenge, there's no one out there who expects him to fail because his game is not a question mark," Smith pointed out. (31:10-31:23)

Now committed to Syracuse, Kiyan Anthony is the No. 35 prospect from the Class of 2026. Even though he is only regarded as a four-star recruit, he has shown much improvement and is expected to lead Long Island Lutheran to a state championship this season.

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Carmelo Anthony never forced Kiyan Anthony to pick Syracuse

Smith pointed out that by proclaiming to the world that he wanted to play with Bronny James on the same team, LeBron James placed undue pressure on his son.

This has not been the case with Kiyan Anthony. During an interview with ESPN last September, Kiyan revealed that his father never even pushed for Syracuse and that he lets him make his own choices.

This was further confirmed by his mother, La La, during Kiyan's announcement, adding that they wanted him to carve his own path.

However, now that he has made his choice, the youngster would be judged entirely on the basis of his own performances, not his lineage. Kiyan has spoken about wanting to do better than his father at his old alma mater. This is a big challenge that the youngster has chosen for himself.