Syracuse Basketball: Kiyan Anthony supports the late Kobe Bryant’s family

Kiyan Anthony, the Syracuse basketball priority recruit, is doing a beautiful thing.

According to a recent report from On3’s Pete Nakos, the 6-foot-5 Anthony is working with the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, which was created by Vanessa Bryant after her husband, NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, and their daughter, Gigi, tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in early 2020.

Per Nakos, not too long ago, photos posted on Instagram showed Kiyan Anthony “modeling the latest apparel for the foundation, called the desert sand collection.”

Nakos wrote, “It is unclear if Anthony was compensated for his work in promoting the new desert sand collection with the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. Regardless, it’s an awesome way for the highly-touted recruit to support the Bryant family.”

Well said, Pete, and much respect to Kiyan Anthony, a 2025 four-star shooting guard who recently took an official visit to Syracuse basketball, for supporting this lovely foundation, whose mission is to create a “positive impact for underserved athletes and boys & girls in sports,” according to the foundation’s Web site.

Syracuse basketball four-star target Kiyan Anthony is a star on and off the court.

"Anthony is the son of Orange legend and long-time NBA star Carmelo Anthony. Noted Nakos, “While Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant competed against each other in the Western Conference in the 2000s, they also spent time together playing on Team USA. Their families grew close, with Bryant’s daughters welcoming Kiyan.”"

Kiyan Anthony is a junior at Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y. He runs on the AAU circuit with the Baltimore-based Team Melo in Nike’s EYBL league.

In September, word came out that Anthony had forged a major name, image and likeness (“NIL”) agreement with Irvine, Calif.-based underwear brand PSD for his own collection. PSD was founded in 2007 by brothers Curt and Ryan Flaitz, who are from Hornell, N.Y., which is about an hour south of Rochester.

Nakos said in his story that Anthony also has his own One Way Clothing line that he has promoted on various occasions through social media channels. When I wrote this column, Kiyan Anthony had an On3 NIL Valuation of $531,000, which was No. 6 nationally among high-school basketball prospects.

Anthony has recently taken official visits to both Syracuse basketball and fellow Atlantic Coast Conference team Florida State, and he also plans to officially visit Big Ten Conference schools Indiana and Michigan at some point in the future.

The Orange coaching staff offered Kiyan Anthony a scholarship last November. His full offer sheet also includes West Virginia, UCF, Michigan, Maryland, Dayton, Florida State, Pittsburgh, Albany, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Seton Hall, UMass, Providence, Memphis, Bryant, George Mason and Manhattan.

Several main recruiting services, within the 2025 cycle, rank him as a top-40 national prospect, a top-10 shooting guard and the No. 1 player in New York. However, in recently updated 2025 national ratings from The Circuit, Kiyan Anthony arrived at No. 25 overall.