At his enshrinement speech for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Carmelo Anthony recounted his basketball journey, acknowledged his parents and siblings, and his Puerto Rican heritage. He also took the opportunity to speak directly to his children, who were sitting in the audience.
“Your father isn’t perfect, but he is proof that struggle doesn’t mean surrender,” he said to his son, Kiyan Anthony, and his daughter, Genesis Anthony. “Proof that the road can be rough and still lead to glory.”
Having both of his children at a public event is new for the ten-time NBA All-Star, who welcomed his daughter and second child in 2017 from a relationship with his former girlfriend Mia Burks. He was still married to TV personality La La Anthony during this time. The two divorced in 2021. Anthony has mostly kept his relationship with his young daughter private and had not publicly confirmed that he was Genesis’ father until his speech on Saturday night. He did share a photo of her during his retirement announcement in 2023, and for her seventh birthday in 2024, they celebrated with a New York Knicks-themed party.
“Raising children in this world is revolutionary. I didn’t just want to be a basketball player; I wanted to be a model of redemption, of accountability, of love,” Anthony said during his speech. My kids saved me. They gave me a reason to move past ego, past noise, past criticism. They remind me that legacy isn’t what you leave behind, as what you lift up.”
Kiyan, the 19-year-old son of Carmelo and La La Anthony, has become a public figure as a talented basketball player in his own right. He will continue in his father’s footsteps this fall as a freshman on Syracuse University’s team.
This speech was emotional for Anthony, who was brought to tears while speaking about his family, specifically his father, Carmelo Iriarte, who died when Anthony was a toddler. His mother, Mary Anthony, who was in the audience, also cried. Anthony has spoken about the research he’s done on his father, who was a member of The Young Lords in New York City, a Puerto Rican activist organization that originated from a Chicago street gang.
Anthony said that he wears his Hall of Fame jacket both himself and his father.
“You left this world too soon, but you never left me. You were a poet, an activist, a fighter. Even in your absence, you gave me strength. In the silence, you gave me purpose. And though I didn’t get to grow with you, I grew because of you.”
