Peoria, Illinois, Aaliyah Guyton’s parents, A.J. Guyton and Adriana Moises Pinto-Mafra, are basketball icons. Her father played for the NBA, and her mother for the WNBA.
18-year-old Aaliyah followed in her parent’s footsteps and pursued a basketball career. Recently, she returned from a torn ACL and made her Hawkeye debut.
Highlights
- Aaliyah Guyton’s father, A.J. Guyton, played for Indiana University, and her mother, Adriana Moises Pinto-Mafra, played with the Brazilian national team.
- Chicago Bulls selected A.J. in the 2000 NBA draft, and Adriana played for WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
- Aaliyah has inherited her parent’s basketball talent and is making her name in college basketball.
Aaliyah already made a name for herself in high school basketball and is expected to make a significant impact at the collegiate level.
She was a four-star guard from Peoria High School, and ESPN rated her as the No. 57 overall best women’s basketball recruit in the class of 2024.
A talented young basketball player committed to playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes, joining Taylor Stremlow, Ava Heiden, and Teagan Mallengi.
Iowa found a superstar player who can shoot like her father during his time in Bloomington.
She is a 5 feet 7 inches tall guard, only a little shorter than her father, who stands 6 feet and 1 inch tall.
Her parents have had the most significant influence on her game. She grew up watching her mother play for Brazil and saw the displays honoring her father in Indiana.
I kind of remember being around my dad when he played. My mom for sure, she kept playing, and I was able to see her in the Olympics.
Aaliyah Guyton
My mom is kind of crazy when she plays, she gets at it. She has given me confidence. My dad, he has given me defense, a strong mind and toughness, stresses not to let opponents push me around.
Aaliyah Guyton’s Father, A. J. Guyton, Played For Indiana University
46-year-old Arthur James “A. J.” Guyton was a four-year starter for the Indiana University Hoosiers under coach Bob Knight.
He played almost every game while at Indiana from 1996 to 2000. He is the middle school athletic director for Peoria Public Schools.
Guyton was rumored to be leaving Indiana after his junior year but announced he would stay after Luke Recker departed the team.
He was named Big Ten Co-MVP in 2000 and selected to be part of the first All-American team in the 2000s. On June 10, 2014, he was inducted into the Indiana University Basketball Hall of Fame.
I remember it all like it was yesterday. Those are nights you live for. I felt back then I couldn’t be guarded.
A. J. Guyton
Moreover, the Chicago Bulls selected him in the second round (32nd overall pick) in the 2000 NBA draft. He played for the Bulls till 2002 and the Golden State Warriors for the 2002-03 season.
Sadly, he only played 80 games during his career in the NBA. He appeared only for 30 seconds in his final winning NBA game against the Chicago Bulls on November 20, 2002.
Afterward, he began playing in NBDL, Sweden, Croatia, Israel, and Italy.
Guyton was diagnosed with glaucoma in each eye in 2006 and underwent treatment for it.
One day in Italy, I looked up for a rebound and lost sight of the ball.
A. J. Guyton
I started having cloudy vision, seeing rings around the lights.
Furthermore, he became an assistant coach at Illinois Central College in 2010 and was named head coach of the Bloomington Flex, a minor league team in Bloomington.
He led the Flex to the 2012 Basketball League championship and the 2013 PBL title, and he was the Coach of the Year in both seasons.
Guyton was appointed Consulting Director with the Midwest Professional Basketball Association in 2015 and was named an assistant coach for the Loyola Greyhounds men’s basketball team in 2018.
Aaliyah Guyton’s Mother, Adriana Moises Pinto, Played With The Brazilian National Team
46-year-old Adriana “Adrianinha” Moises Pinto is a Brazilian female basketball player who spent 17 years with the national basketball team.
She played for the Brazilian national team from 1997 to 2016 and has won several awards.
Adriana participated in four Summer Olympics, winning bronze at the 2000 edition in Sydney. Likewise, she appeared in four World Cups.
However, she retired from her national team following the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women and expressed an interest in becoming a basketball coach.
Later, in late 2015, coach Antonio Carlos Barbosa invited her to join the team preparing for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She felt interested in representing Brazil at home.
I didn’t want this game against France to be my last. I wanted and believed we would have another opportunity, but it wasn’t this time. I will always root for the girls, and I told them that they are on the court.
Adriana “Adrianinha” Moisés Pinto
Furthermore, Adriana is confident that she has contributed as much as possible. She left her national team to dedicate herself to different projects in Brazil.
She played for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in 2001 and 2002, but the Mercury waived her before the 2007 season. Later, she played in Italy, Russia, and Croatia.
She met A.J. Guyton while playing in Italy.
Additional Information
- Aaliyah Guyton moved to Brazil when she was only 6 months old and is a dual citizen of Brazil and the U.S.
- She grew up alternating between her parents, spending first grade in Brazil with her mother and second grade in the U.S. with her father.
- Her favorite NBA players are Kyrie Irving and Arike Ogunbowale.
