If there’s one role that has remained undervalued, it is that of a father. From raising right to passing on the baton, there’s something undeniably powerful about watching a father step back so his son can step up. As Kiyan suits up for Syracuse, Carmelo fits into the story, as he is right there beside him, but not as a baller anymore. “Ky, chase your dreams,” Melo said in an emotional moment that marked the end of his own playing days. That heartfelt tribute video was the beginning of a quiet sacrifice. Now, months later, we’re learning more about the risks Melo took to make that dream happen.

Meanwhile, the father-son duo recently joined Instagram’s original series Close Friends Only and dropped some real gems. Melo kicked things off by flipping the script and asking Kiyan when he last took a creative risk. Kiyan’s response? Pure confidence. He talked about launching his clothing brand, One Way Clothing. “I decided to do a collab post with my main page and my brand page, and they got like almost 1,000,000 views,” Kiyan shared. “I got a lot of followers. So after I did that, I realized, ‘Oh, people actually want to see the clothes. They actually want to buy the clothes and interact with them.’”

Then came the reversal. Kiyan asked Melo to drop his own story about a creative risk. Melo didn’t hesitate: walking away from the NBA was his biggest gamble. “Retiring early,” Melo said. “Because if I didn’t have things, and ideas, and concepts, and vision, then it would have been all bad after that, right?” It’s clear he didn’t just walk away from the game—he walked straight into the unknown.

More importantly, Melo didn’t follow anyone else’s path. “But the fact that I had to get over retirement, but then step into the real world, step into a mindset of figuring out what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. And creatively, going out there and doing it on my own and with my own team, and not having any backing, on anything I’m doing, so, I took that risk. I didn’t take the traditional path, and that’s a creative risk to take,” he said, explaining how he started building from scratch with his own team, no safety net. That’s not just bold—it’s personal.

Since officially retiring in May 2023, Carmelo’s been diving into fashion, creative ventures, and running his production company, Creative 7. But the real reason he stepped back? It was for Kiyan.

Carmelo Anthony sacrificed year 20 for Kiyan

Carmelo Anthony, who once lit up the league, averaging 28.7 points a game in 2012–13, actually had his eyes on year 20. Yep, he wasn’t done just yet. Sitting ninth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, Melo still believed he had one more season in the tank. And if things had gone differently, we might’ve seen him suiting up alongside LeBron James again in 2024. But it wasn’t just about basketball anymore—there was a promise Melo had made to his son, Kiyan.

Melo had told himself—and more importantly, his son—that he’d walk away from the game once Kiyan started high school. That was supposed to be the end of 2022. “Said ‘I’m doing 20.’ I was one year shy from doing 20, I did. I always told him when you get to high school, I’m retiring no matter what’s happening. His freshman year was my 19th year,” Melo shared during 7PM in Brooklyn podcast.

Interestingly, it was Kiyan who changed the plan. Melo admitted that his son encouraged him to lace up one more time. “In LA, and he was like go ahead, like now I want you to go play your last year like go play go play with your bro go ahead you ain’t going to never get a chance to do this again,” Melo recalled. That push made year 19 possible.

And just like that, Melo gave the game 19 incredible seasons before retiring with a touching message to his kids. Now, he’s all-in for Kiyan, who’s ready to make waves at his dad’s alma mater.