NBA legend Carmelo Anthony achieved a career milestone when the former New York Knicks forward was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Anthony, 41, was part of the 2025 Hall of Fame class that included former NBA player Dwight Howard, former WNBA player Sue Bird, NCAA championship-winning coach Billy Donovan, and other basketball greats.
During his induction speech, the former NBA star gave a shoutout to all the influential people in his life, failing to mention the one woman who stayed married to him during his basketball career, his ex-wife, Alani “La La” Vazquez, professionally known as La La Anthony.
“My kids saved me. They gave me a reason to move past ego, past noise, past criticism. They reminded me that legacy isn’t what you leave behind, it’s what you lift up,” Melo stated at the ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Sept., referring to his son, Kiyan, and his daughter, Genesis, who sat in the audience.
He continued, “To every woman who’s held us together, I owe everything to the strength of women. To the women who raised us, who loved us through our mistakes, who believe in us before the world saw our potential. I stand here because of you.”
Anthony acknowledged his deceased father, Carmelo Iriarte, his late sister, Michelle Anthony, and his mother, Mary Anthony. He also gave a shoutout to several of his “real friends” for being part of his personal and professional journey. In addition, he saluted his college alma mater, Syracuse University, as well as the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks franchises.
The 10-time NBA All-Star went on to call single mothers, grandmothers, and sisters the “real MVPs” for their roles in raising children with absentee fathers.
To the surprise of many pop culture fans and media figures, Anthony did not directly thank his ex-wife and mother of 18-year-old Kiyan.
La La, 46, gave birth to Kiyan in 2007. She married Melo in July 2010 following a six-year engagement. Their wedding ceremony was filmed for the VH1 reality show “La La’s Full Court Wedding,” which debuted in September 2010.
Citing irreconcilable differences, La La filed for divorce from the 2013 NBA scoring champion in 2021. Their marriage was marred by constant allegations that Melo cheated on his wife.
Melo’s daughter, Genesis, arrived in 2017. Model Mia Angel Burks is said to be the mother of the 8-year-old child. Gensis was born while Anthony was still married to La La, causing critics to condemn the baller’s infidelity.
However, La La remains a target of online scrutiny as well. In particular, the former “Power” actress has been blasted for choosing to keep her ex’s last name after their breakup.
“Yet, she won’t give that last name back,” one Facebook user complained about La La in reaction to a post covering Kiyan and Genesis appearing at their father’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony. This prompted someone else to reply, “She probably wants to keep it because of her son. Change it when she gets married again.”
Another noticed, “He spoke of his mother beautifully and how strong she was but he treated her like second left overs.”
A fourth noted, “Marriage is for better or for worse La La experienced the better part but once she experienced the worst, she got outta there. So LaLa ended the marriage, not that baby.”
La La has explained why she continues to use Anthony as her last name despite separating from Melo. She told the crowd at the 2024 Fanatics Fest in New York City that Kiyan was the deciding factor in the decision.
“The moment of being able to buy Kiyan’s NBA jersey will be crazy,” panel moderator Taylor Rooks mentioned to La La about her son potentially following in his dad’s footsteps of becoming an NBA player.
La La responded, “That’s why I haven’t changed my last name yet,” before adding, “I’m gonna keep it around for a little while!” Kiyan’s first step towards basketball glory begins with him navigating the waters of college hoops as a Syracuse University freshman for the 2025-2026 season.
While La La’s post-marriage life continues to be analyzed by outsiders, Melo has not been left off the hook for his role in the collapse of their union.
A second person on Facebook wrote, “He is a grown man who made a decision to step out of his marriage, and resulted in him having a child, she is here, and he is in her life!”
Leave a Reply