Kiyan Anthony could enter the NBA in 2026 and his father Carmelo Anthony has now shared what kind of player the teenager could be when he goes pro. Anthony told Overtime, that he thinks Kiyan’s NBA comparisons are Penny Hardaway, Paul George, Tyrese Haliburton, and Shaun Livingston.
“I’ll try to be very honest about his comp because I know his game,” Anthony said. “His comp is Paul George.”
The interviewer brought up the fact that George is Kiyan’s favorite player and Carmelo hilariously stated he is sick and tired of hearing that.
“Haliburton, Penny,” Anthony continued. “He’s Penny with a great jump shot. That would be my comp. Shaun Livingston with a crazy jumper. That’s the mold. I can’t say me.”
I have to say that all those players Anthony mentioned have different kinds of skill sets. George is the prototypical two-way wing, while Haliburton is a floor general who can also rain down threes.
Hardaway, meanwhile, was a freak athlete who was effective near the rim and was a good playmaker too. Lastly, Livingston was more of a traditional point guard who was very effective in the mid-range.
What is common between these four, though, is size. George is 6’8″, Hardaway is 6’7″, Livingston is 6’7″, and Haliburton is 6’5″. Except for George, those are three tall point guards and Anthony sees his son, who plays at the shooting guard spot now, being the same.
Carmelo thinks Kiyan, who is currently 6’5″, will grow to about 6’8″ and that he will have to play at the point guard spot in the NBA. He reckons his son has the IQ to excel at the position as well.
Anthony’s pick among those player comparisons for Kiyan seemed to be Hardaway with a jump shot. If that turns out to be accurate, he would be quite the player.
Hardaway was one of the most electrifying players in the NBA at his best. After being drafted with the third pick of the 1993 Draft, he averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in his first four seasons in the league.
Hardaway even finished third in MVP voting in 1996 and it looked like he was going to be one of the premier point guards in the league for the years to come. Unfortunately, a series of severe injuries in the following years led to him never fulfilling his potential.
It’s too early to say if Kiyan will be anywhere near as good as Hardaway was in his early years but there is no denying that he is a very talented prospect. Much like his father, the 17-year-old excels at scoring, having averaged 19.6 points per game on the Nike EYBL circuit in the spring and 28.5 points per game at the NBPA Top 100 camp in the summer.
Thanks to all that, ESPN has ranked Kiyan 36th in their top-100 list for the class of 2025 and a lot of colleges were after him. The teenager, who has starred at Long Island Lutheran High School, finally announced which college he’d go to on Friday and it wasn’t much of a surprise.
Kiyan followed in Carmelo’s footsteps by committing to Syracuse. His father helped them win the only national championship in their history in 2003 and it will be interesting to see if he is able to accomplish that feat as well.
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