The 18-year-old basketball player Aaliyah Chavez made her parents, Sonny and Andrea Chavez, proud with her commitment to Oklahoma on March 25, 2025.
Chavez, the No.1 ranked girls’ basketball recruit in the Class of 2025, announced her decision to join Oklahoma, choosing it over other top programs like Texas, Texas Tech, and South Carolina.
Proud parents Sonny Chavez and Andrea Chavez proudly shared the news on Instagram, celebrating this significant moment.
Likewise, Aaliyah also often attributes them as the guiding light to her successful basketball journey.
In an interview with SLAM Magazine for her High School Basketball Diary, Aaliyah briefly disclosed her parents’ involvement in her daily life.
She mentioned a moment from her routine, saying,
My mom’s making bacon and egg breakfast burritos. I’m not that into cooking, but my parents can; my mom made chili the other night, and my dad gets on the grill.
Likewise, in a Naismith Q&A earlier in March 2025, Aaliyah pointed her father when asked who inspired her game beyond Kobe Bryant and Kyrie Irving, saying:
My dad. He’s pushed me ever since I was little.
Aaliyah Chavez’s Father, Sonny Chavez, Runs a Basketball Academy!
Sonny Chavez, Aaliyah’s father, is a former high school athlete. He played basketball and football in Muleshoe, Texas.
Years later, that talent has come full circle as he now runs “THE LAB CERTIFIED LLC,” a basketball academy in Lubbock, Texas, where he trains aspiring hoopers, including Aaliyah.
Interestingly, Sonny didn’t initially see Aaliyah as a basketball player. He was skeptical when she begged him to sign her up for lessons costing $125 at eight years old.
He thought she wasn’t naturally athletic and assumed her interest would fade over time.
Hence, Sonny put her through a workout of wall-sits, defensive slides, and sprints to deter her, without even using a basketball.
“I really wanted her to quit asking me,” Sonny admitted in an interview with the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. However, his plan backfired, for Aaliyah endured the challenge, proving him wrong.
Since then, Sonny has been very involved, training Aaliyah almost all year at The Lab.
He uses a tough-love style, making her do things like burpees after games if she misses free throws or makes mistakes on defense.
His training has worked, for Aaliyah ended her high school career at Monterey High School with 4,796 points, a state championship, and awards like the 2025 Naismith High School Player of the Year.
Details surrounding the profession of Aaliyah Chavez’s mother, Andrea, aren’t available. Her Instagram is a window into their close-knit family.
The Chavez family comprises Sonny, Andrea, Aaliyah Chavez, her younger sister, Bel’A Buckets, and Kingston Brumley-Chavez, a multisport athlete whom Andrea considers a son.
In a heartfelt June 2024 post, she wrote about Kingston:
In just 5 months you went from being ‘one day’ to changing our lives upside down for the best ever! I never knew what it would be like to have a son but you will forever and always be my boy.
Andrea Chavez
Similarly, her love for Aaliyah and Bel’A Buckets shines just as brightly, as evidenced by her Instagram post.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Aaliyah Chavez is also set to sign an NIL deal with the Jordan Brand, showcasing her growing influence in the sport.
- She has broken multiple records, including scoring 57 points in a single game and making 639 career 3-pointers.
