‘Everything I know comes from him.’ Sons of NBA stars taking over as top college prospects.

cameron drummond

Mon, Jul 1, 2024, 6:40 a.m.·7 min read

To understand the future of men’s college and professional basketball, you have to also understand its past.

That’s because a litany of players whose fathers were NBA standouts are now listed among the top college and pro basketball prospects in the classes of 2025, 2026 and beyond.

That movement began in earnest this year, when Bronny James — the son of legendary NBA star LeBron James — went one-and-done at Southern California before embarking on his own professional basketball career. Bronny was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron’s team, with the No. 55 overall pick in last week’s 2024 NBA draft.

This positions LeBron and Bronny to become the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time, let alone on the same team.

Bronny was considered a top recruit in his own right: He was ranked by the 247Sports Composite as a five-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class.

And Bronny is just the start for what should be a strong run of top recruits descending from basketball royalty.

In the 2025 recruiting group, this includes Cameron and Cayden Boozer (the twin sons of ex-NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer), Kiyan Anthony (the son of NBA 75th Anniversary team member Carmelo Anthony), Dorian Hayes (the son of former Kentucky star and longtime NBA veteran Chuck Hayes), Jermaine O’Neal Jr. (the son of six-time NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal) and Jacob Wilkins (the son of Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins).

In the 2026 recruiting class, this includes players like Alijah Arenas (the son of ex-NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas) and Tajh Ariza (the son of former NBA champion Trevor Ariza).

More will follow in the 2027 recruiting class, and so on.

These prospects can draw on the benefits of having direct family lineage to the NBA, be it the physical tools needed to succeed in the league or the fatherly advice that comes with learning how to handle on-court expectations.

Several high school basketball standouts who find themselves in this position — managing their own budding basketball dreams while drawing on advice from their fathers who made it in the NBA — spoke to the Herald-leader about this dynamic last month while at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in Orlando, Florida.

Kiyan Anthony enjoys breakout year with father Carmelo by his side

Of all the former NBA stars whose sons are now full of basketball potential, Carmelo Anthony has had the most prominent front row seat to it all.

On the surface, this might seem to be the case because of Carmelo’s impressive basketball credentials: Across a 19-year NBA career, the former national champion at Syracuse averaged more than 22 points per game and was a 10-time NBA All-Star selection.

But upon retiring from professional basketball in May 2023 with 28,289 career points (10th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list), Carmelo shifted into full-on travel basketball dad mode. He’s been at just about all of Kiyan’s basketball events since then, whether those were games with his Long Island Lutheran High School (New York) team or USA basketball junior national team events.

“Just being in the gym with him and him dropping gems. Whatever he sees. He watches all of my games so, just him being able to drop off what he sees, because he’s been through it all,” Kiyan said, “I really appreciate him for that. He comes to all of my games, so he gives little pointers within the game. It’s just very helpful because I can quickly apply that to whatever mistakes I’m making.”

And with his father along for the ride, Kiyan — a 6-foot-4, 180-pound shooting guard — has blossomed into one of the top college basketball prospects in the 2025 recruiting group.

Carmelo Anthony, left, and his son, Kiyan, watch a game during the City of Palms Classic at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Florida, on Dec. 19, 2023.

Kiyan is currently ranked as the No. 33 overall recruit in the 2025 recruiting class by the 247Sports Composite, and he has taken official recruiting visits to Florida State and Syracuse, his father’s alma mater.

“It definitely means a lot with him being there,” Kiyan said of Carmelo attending so many of his basketball events. “This was really my coming out summer, so he was there every step of the way. And I give full credit to him, putting me in the right spots and directing me to the easiest way to score, the easiest way to play defense and just the easiest way to let the game come through.

“Everything I do, everything I know comes from him. Definitely appreciate him for that.”

Another four-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting class with NBA connections via his father is Jermaine O’Neal Jr.

The elder Jeramine O’Neal was a first-round draft pick in 1996, and he had to grow up fast as a direct high school-to-NBA prospect.

A successful 18-year NBA career followed for Jermaine O’Neal, who was named the league’s Most Improved Player in 2002 and was a three-time All-NBA selection.

“For me, it just has to do with my IQ: Knowing the game, just having a lot of different things to learn from, stuff like that,” Jermaine O’Neal Jr., a 6-foot-5, 180-pound small forward, said of things he learned from his father.

In more recent times, Andre Iguodala was a prominent presence on four NBA championship-winning teams with the Golden State Warriors.

His son, Andre Iguodala II, is a 6-foot-8, 175-pound class of 2025 small forward who played with former Central Kentucky high school star Jasper Johnson last season at Link Academy, a top prep basketball school in Missouri.

The younger Iguodala has been able to draw from his father’s knowledge, as well as that from other current and former professional players, as he forges his own basketball path.

“The tips that they give you. Coming straight from the NBA, they know a lot more than me,” the younger Iguodala said about the NBA players who served as coaches at the NBPA Top 100 Camp. “So they can give me some good insight on how to play the game the right way.”

Former Atlanta Hawks star Dominique Wilkins was an SEC standout at Georgia. His son, Jacob Wilkins, will also play college basketball for the Bulldogs.

Sons of former Georgia, UK stars discuss advice received from fathers

The advice passed down from NBA star fathers to their sons also extends to a pair of former SEC standouts who went on to distinguished NBA careers.

Dominique Wilkins’ reputation as “The Human Highlight Film” began during the course of his three collegiate seasons at Georgia, where he averaged more than 21 points across 78 career games and earned First-Team All-SEC honors.

His son, Jacob, is ranked as the No. 34 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class and will follow in his father’s footsteps at the next level: In October, Jacob committed to play at Georgia starting with the 2025-26 season.

“He just tells me to run, so I try and just run down the floor as fast as I can,” Jacob — a 6-foot-9, 175-pound power forward — said of the advice given to him by Dominique. “Because you get more points by just running down the floor (for transition opportunities). So that’s basically what he tells me.”

Elsewhere in the treasure trove of past SEC greats, Chuck Hayes is a name near and dear to the hearts of Kentucky basketball fans.

Hayes was a Kentucky basketball stalwart from 2001 to 2005: He tied a UK record by starting 110 straight contests from the end of his freshman season through the conclusion of his college career, earning SEC Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-SEC honors along the way.

An incredibly fruitful professional career followed. Despite going undrafted in 2005, Hayes played in the NBA for more than a decade and is now the director of basketball operations for the Golden State Warriors.

His son Dorian — a 6-foot-4, 165-pound shooting guard in the class of 2025 who has recently collected scholarship offers from the likes of George Mason, Murray State and New Mexico State — said being around current NBA stars such as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson as a result of Chuck’s job has had a positive impact on his development.

“It’s had a huge impact for me,” Dorian said. “Being around a bunch of guys that’s been in the situation that I want to get to, it really helps with learning and learning what it takes to get to that next step and how to play the game the right way.”