About Love Island's Aniya Harvey, Her Dad's NBA Run & Her Own College Volleyball Career
Turns out, the Love Island USA Season 8 Islander followed in her father's athletic footsteps.
Key Takeaways
- Love Island USA Season 8 cast member Aniya Harvey is the daughter of former NBA power forward Donnell Harvey, who played for multiple teams and later competed internationally beforRead More
- Love Island USA Season 8 cast member Aniya Harvey is the daughter of former NBA power forward Donnell Harvey, who played for multiple teams and later competed internationally before retiring.
- Donnell Harvey has been described as a standout athlete who is now retired.
- Aniya is also an athlete, and at 6-feet tall played collegiate volleyball at Florida State University while earning a business marketing degree.
The Villa has seen a few pro ballers over the years, but now the daughter of a former NBA player has joined the Season 8 cast of Love Island USA.
As Aniya Harvey revealed to Love Island USA cameras, "My dad, he used to play in the NBA." So who exactly is Aniya's dad and which NBA teams did he play for? Read on for everything you need to know.
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Aniya's dad Donnell Harvey is a former NBA player
Aniya's dad is Donnell Harvey, who played for five different NBA teams throughout his professional basketball career as a power forward. After the 2000 NBA draft, Donnell played for the Dallas Mavericks from 2000 to 2002 before he was traded to the Denver Nuggets for a year. Over the next five years, he went on to play for the Orlando Magic, the Phoenix Suns, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, and the New Jersey Nets.
Donnell, who stands at 6' 8" tall, also took his game abroad, playing for international basketball teams in Greece, Turkey, China, and more.
An article published in 2000 by ESPN described Donnell, in college at the time, as a "pivotal" player and a "monster athlete."
Now 45, Donnell is retired from the sport and looks to be enjoying quality time with his family. In a 2022 Instagram post, Aniya shared a photo at a birthday party with her dad along with the caption: "If I had another 100 lives, I would choose to be a part of my family EVERY single time. I am blessed — they make my life truly special and exciting every day."
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Aniya from Love Island USA Season 8 is also an athlete
Hailing from Tyrone, Georgia, Aniya followed in her dad's athletic footsteps and played volleyball in college as a 6-foot tall middle blocker at Florida State University.
In an Instagram post following her graduation in 2024, Aniya posted a photo of herself holding a volleyball while wearing her cap and academic stole. "Throughout my academic and collegiate volleyball career, I embraced many challenges and times of doubt, balancing rigorous hours in school and on the court for all four years," she wrote, sharing that earned a bachelor’s degree in business marketing.
And Aniya isn't the only athlete on the Love Island USA Season 8 cast. Beatriz Hatz is a Paralympic bronze medalist and Sincere Rhea revealed that he ran track. Do we sense a little friendly competition going down in Fiji? After all, Aniya did describe herself in her Love Island USA intro as a "super friendly, a bit competitive" and "so freaking extra."
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Premiering on June 2, stream new episodes of Love Island USA Season 8 exclusively on Peacock at 6 p.m./9 p/m/ ET every day, except Wednesdays. New episodes of Love Island Aftersun, hosted by Summer House's Ciara Miller and Tefi Pessoa, also drop every Saturday.
