It’s not a secret that LeBron James was the player who contributed much to Carmelo Anthony’s decision to join the Los Angeles Lakers. However, it was another person who encouraged and motivated him to keep going when Melo was without a team for several months during the 2019-2020 season.
In the interview, he revealed that person was his son Kiyan. “But also being around my son, and being around his teammates, and going to the tournament and them giving me that love,” Anthony said on HBO’s The Shop, per Lee Tran of Fadeaway World.
“That was a different kind of love. Like forget the media. When you get the love from kids like that. It’s like oh… I gotta be there, I gotta do what I gotta do.They telling me: ‘Man you ain’t done. Keep doing what you doing. It’s a beautiful feeling. It’s embarrassing!
“Listen, the year that I was away from the game. The hardest thing was to go from here to here. Right? And not knowing why. So, I walk in the house, I’m talking to my son, watching the game. He’s just like: Dad.. yo him?! He playing?! But dad now he trash. Like I don’t see him in the league and you ain’t in the league. Like… what’s going on? Everybody got different situations, man.”
Anthony was signed by the Portland Trail Blazers on a one-year deal in late 2019. The 10-time NBA All-Star had to settle for a lesser role than what he is used to but was able to take a key role in the team’s offense. This past season, the 37-year-old forward averaged 13.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game for the Blazers.
