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Carmelo Anthony was cheered on by a special virtual fan during Monday’s game against the Chicago Bulls — his 12-year-old son Kiyan!
The basketball player — who was recently signed by the Portland Trail Blazers more than a year after he was cut by the Houston Rockets in 2018 — put on his season-best performance Monday, scoring 25 points and surpassing former athlete Alex English for 18th place on the NBA’s career scoring list, ESPN reported. With Carmelo’s help, the Trail Blazers won the game 117-94.
To commemorate the milestone, Carmelo’s ex, La La Anthony, FaceTimed in their son Kiyan from the sidelines to be a part of the special moment.
In the clip, as documented by one user on Twitter, Carmelo, 35, was on the bench when he looked up to see La La holding her phone with their son on the screen. Carmelo then saluted Kiyan from the court.
“My son always wants to feel like he’s here,” La La, 38, told ESPN.
“He misses his dad a lot. I was filming up the block, so I came here and just wanted my son to feel like he was a part of the moment. I FaceTimed him so he could see his dad, and he just was excited because his dad had such a great game tonight.”
Carmelo and Kiyan share a close relationship, as shown in a recent Instagram post shared by the Power actress.
After the NBA player signed with the Trail Blazers, La La documented the moment that Kiyan shared a sweet goodbye with his father, who had to move to a new state for the sport.
In the photo, Kiyan stood beside his dad as he held a basketball in his hand.
“He is his dad’s #1 fan & super excited for this new opportunity…but when it’s all said and done, he’s still a 12yr old that is going to miss his dad ????,” La La wrote. “Portland you got a great one ???#portlandtrailblazers #stayme7o.”
After the news of the signing was made public, a number of Carmelo’s NBA friends congratulated the athlete on his new team.
“It’s about damn time!” wrote recent retiree Dwyane Wade on Twitter. “Right!!” LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers responded.
Carmelo’s agreement with the Trail Blazers is non-guaranteed, according to ESPN, meaning Portland can end the contract at any time and the team isn’t required to pay any remaining salary.
The Trailblazers will be the seventh team Carmelo has been a part of throughout this NBA career. He played for the Nuggets for six seasons after he was selected No. 3 in the 2003 NBA Draft. He joined the New York Knicks in 2011 and was later traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017.
And while Carmelo has been shooting hoops, La La most recently caught up with BFF Kim Kardashian West at Kanye West‘s “Nebuchadnezzar” opera on Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
The two showed off their style as Kardashian West, 39, dressed in a formfitting dress and sherpa-lined leather jacket, while La La opted for a nude jumpsuit and purple satin overcoat.
Other celebrities spotted at the show included Brad Pitt and Alia Shawkat, who sat together in a VIP box with another “group of people,” a source close to Pitt told PEOPLE.
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