Aniya Harveyused the opening episode ofLove Island USAseason eight to reveal that her father is a former NBA player, telling contestants on the US reality show that she now works with him at his charity.
The 23-year-old islander from Tyrone, Georgia, stopped short of naming him on air. Instead, she reeled off the professional basketball teams he had played for, enough breadcrumbs to send viewers online to piece together the clues.
Fans quickly landed on one answer and, based on those details, the ex-NBA player dad is former Dallas Mavericks forward Donnell Harvey. Nothing has been officially confirmed by the show or by the Harveys, so the connection should still be taken with a grain of salt.
What is not in dispute is that Aniya has arrived in the villa with a backstory that sets her apart from most first-time reality contestants. Viewers met her as one of the new season's singles, but a parallel story has been unfolding far from the cameras, a former top prospect who burnt through five NBA teams in as many years before quietly rebuilding a life around youth work.
The news emerged after Aniya's introductory chat on Love Island USA, where she said her father used to play in the NBA before moving into running a charity she helps to operate. She also named the franchises he played for, including stints in Dallas, Denver and Orlando, without identifying him directly. The partial disclosure has quickly become one of the early talking points of the new season.
Those team references line up precisely with the career of Donnell Harvey. Harvey was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2000 NBA draft and played there until 2002, before being traded to the Denver Nuggets for a year.
He then had a short spell with the Orlando Magic in 2003, followed by a run with the Phoenix Suns from 2003 to 2004, before spending the 2004 to 2005 season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce and joining the New Jersey Nets in 2005.
He played his final NBA game in February 2005. After that, he continued his professional career with several teams around the world before walking away from basketball altogether in 2014.
To recall his earlier years, Harvey arrived in the league with considerable hype. At high school level he was named the consensus national player of the year in 1999, a status underlined by an appearance in the McDonald's All-American Game the same year.
He also picked up the Naismith Award as the top high school player in the United States, before accepting an athletic scholarship to the University of Florida.
Source: International Business Times UK
