“Stop having girls hand me numbers for you at your games.” Just a few months ago, La La Anthony roasted her son as she was tired of playing messenger for the girls looking to date her son. Kiyan Anthony expertly took care of that problem, as the 18-year-old is now ready to take the matter into his own hands. Meaning? The Syracuse commit is in a relationship, which his mother spoke about for the first time.

Before revealing his emotions about her son dating, the BMF star spoke about healthy co-parenting teachings that didn’t hinder Kiyan. “Because how we acted was going to affect how he is in relationships. He’s 18 now, he has a girlfriend now… doing his own thing. Like we wanted to be a good example when it came to that. So, just remember the kids are watching everything.” Being in the limelight and being the #1 player in New York will definitely help get attention in life away from the court.

New relationships have brought new questions, not only for Kiyan but also for her mother. While speaking to Angie Martinez IRL Podcast, La La Anthony approved the relationship and said, “I really like her. I think he’s made a great choice“. In fact, it’s the first time that Kiyan has introduced a girlfriend to his mother. “My kid has a girlfriend. This is his first girlfriend… Like girlfriend, where it’s like ‘Mom, this is my girlfriend,’ and like brought her home to meet me. Yes. This is the first time.” Now, you may be wondering how the first meeting actually was.

The host, Martinez, too, was eager and asked, and also if La La if she analyzed red flag behavior in Kiyan’s girlfriend. Speaking about the meeting first, the Chi star added, “It went great. It went great. I mean, she’s a great girl. … My thing is if he’s happy, I’m happy.” But the protective instinct which have been working for the past 18 years won’t end anytime soon.

“I am always paying attention… I don’t always have it right, but I think I know some of the signs, or like the red flags, and haven’t seen that. Yeah. Thank God.” So, the 6-foot-5 begins his new journey, not just on the hardwood but also off the court. The good thing, he has the support of his mother.

La La Anthony’s support matters, as Kiyan takes a strong stance against the trolls

Now that we know La La Anthony is happy, let’s also understand who the girl is in Kiyan’s life. Her name is Angel Bradley, a famous social media influencer with over 1.9 million followers on TikTok. Using the same platform, the 18-year-old hard-launched his relationship with a dancing video that has over 2.3 million views. And the caption “mh 🫶🏼”—aka “my heart.” Cute right? But the trolls took issue with this and raised the age-gap question. Yes, Bradley is 4 years older than Anthony. But instead of lashing out, the Syracuse star chose a very calm response.

The son of Carmelo Anthony addressed the question head-on from a netizen while live-streaming, who asked, “What do you think of people talking about you and Angel’s age gap?” A stoic, mature answer followed. “If I look at y’all, most of y’all parents have a big age gap. Most of y’all parents have the same age gap we have,” Kiyan said. He added that he and Angel discussed the topic before they started dating, clarifying that it wasn’t a problem for him. Kiyan would have consulted or spoken to his parents as well.

That’s why La La Anthony is pretty confident and happy about her son’s first relationship. It’s a big step for the 18-year-old in his life professionally and personally. Even for his mother, this is hard, as she misses the time when her son was not around anymore, as he prepares for his future in Syracuse.