The Indiana Fever are one game away from the WNBA Finals. They were not supposed to get nearly this far, not with Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and several other key players watching from the sidelines and posting ill-advised AI art on Instagram. But the Fever won their first-round series on the road, and have pushed four-time MVP A’ja Wilson and the Aces to a Game 5 tonight. The obvious question is how, and while part of that answer can be credited to Kelsey Mitchell becoming James Harden, the Fever’s successful run has as much to do with their physical brand of hoops. In other words, it has to do with Aliyah Boston.
The Fever’s center has been remarkably consistent since she was drafted first overall in 2023. That’s mostly a compliment, as her career averages of 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game have earned her an All-Star spot in each of her three seasons. But the pessimist might watch Boston play for a few games and see a big who is great at everything but not necessarily the best at anything. She doesn’t have the range of Jonquel Jones or A’ja Wilson, the handles of someone like Napheesa Collier, nor the dominant rim protection of Ezi Magbegor or Brittney Griner. Every top-tier WNBA team of the past few years has relied on a multifunctional big. As great as Boston is at the meat-and-potatoes aspects, like grabbing rebounds and finishing at the rack, it would have been fair to be mildly skeptical of her as a championship-level anchor.
