Kiyan Anthony, son of Carmelo, modeling for Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation

Kiyan Anthony grew up with the Bryant family.

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.

Now Kiyan Anthony – a top basketball recruit in the 2025 class – is working with the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. In photos posted on Instagram on Thursday afternoon, he’s seen modeling the latest apparel for the foundation, called the desert sand collection.

After Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi died in a helicopter crash in 2020, Vanessa Bryant created the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) that works to further Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s legacies. The foundation recently held a Skills Academy at Oregon with local youth in the Eugene community.

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.

The foundation will be seen throughout the 2023-24 basketball season, too. Duke, LSU, Oregon, UConn, and USC will be wearing Kobe Bryant and Gigi Bryant shoes throughout the year.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mamba & Mambacita Sports Fdn (@mambamambacitasports)

Latest on Kiyan Anthony’s recruitment

The four-star shooting guard visited Syracuse last weekend with his father. The top-40 guard is the top prospect in the state of New York for the 2025 cycle. Along with visiting the Orange, he made a trip to Florida State earlier in the month. Michigan and Indiana are expected to get visits at some point this upcoming season.

“It’s no pressure going there. I know wherever I go, I’m just gonna go there and play my game,” Anthony recently told On3. “But my dad always tells me, ‘Don’t feel like you got to go to Syracuse just because I went there. Really look into these colleges and choose where you want to go.’ So that’s what I’m really looking forward to doing.”

Kiyan Anthony’s NIL brand

Kiyan Anthony recently signed his first significant NIL partnership, teaming up with PSD underwear, the same company that’s signed NIL deals with Bronny James and the Cavinder Twins.

The son of Carmelo and La La has also promoted his One Way Clothing line multiple times on his social media accounts. But the fact that PSD – a company that has strong street cred with athletes and is a force in the NIL space – is his first steal is a sure indicator of Anthony’s budding NIL brand.

Anthony already has more than 950,000 followers on social media, including more than 752,000 on Instagram alone. That presence gives him an instant audience and will make him attractive to other brands. Outside of agreements with NIL collectives, social media posts have become the leading activity for athletes. Boasting a large following across Instagram and TikTok, specifically, can make all the difference in compensation.

It also doesn’t hurt that he’s the son of a former 10-time NBA All-Star and NCAA national champion. His mother is also a well-known name, having worked previously as an MTV VJ and appearing in numerous television shows and movies.

All of this has helped Kiyan Anthony rise to an On3 NIL Valuation of $531,000. That ranks No. 6 in high school basketball and just outside the On3 NIL 100.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.