Imago
May 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) in action against the Atlanta Dream in the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Imago
May 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) in action against the Atlanta Dream in the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Stephanie White did not credit the LA Sparks for shutting down Aliyah Boston. “You think it was LA?” White said. “I think it’s hard to get into a flow when you’re getting called for all these “quote unquote” fouls.” And while White dismissed concerns about Boston’s form, the bigger concern for Indiana quickly became her availability.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
The Fever forward was already struggling with a lower extremity injury from Unrivaled. She missed the latter part of the 3v3 season and also opted out of the Team USA qualifiers in March. She was still recovering by training camp and missed the first two preseason games. Yet, Boston was looking in full flow in the regular season, dropping 23 points and 4 rebounds in the opener against the Wings. Yet, her injury has haunted Boston as she returned to the locker room midgame against the Mystics.
Boston had a productive 21 minutes against the Mystics, scoring 9 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. However, she returned to the locker room with her old injury and the Fever announced that she was ruled out from the rest of the game. “Injury Update: Aliyah Boston (lower leg injury) will not return to tonight’s game,” the franchise wrote.
Top Stories
After the game Stephanie White did not have a significant update on Boston. “I don’t have any information on that. I haven’t spoken to our medical staff yet,” she said (via Chloe Peterson)
Injury Update: Aliyah Boston (lower leg injury) will not return to tonight's game.
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) May 16, 2026
Stephanie White was taking things cautiously with Boston, reflecting her importance to this team. “We’ll take it slow, we’ll see how it goes. Every day they’ve been adding things that they’ve been doing in their return to play. There’s no reason right now I don’t think to rush it, so we’ll make sure they’re fully ready to go,” White had said.
Yet, the physical nature of the Mystics’ game could have affected Boston. Washington was dominating the paint, and the Fever had Boston as their best weapon to counter that. Once Boston exited, Indiana’s interior resistance largely disappeared. The Fever finished with just 28 points in the paint while conceding 58 and that was largely due to the loss of Boston.
She is their best paint protector and rebounder. They only scored 28 points in the paint after being outsized by the Mystics, with the likes of Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin dominating the boards. The Fever could not find respite as the Mystics grabbed 44 rebounds to the Fever’s 29 in that 104-102 overtime loss. If Boston has a serious injury that leaves her out for a significant period, the Indiana Fever could regret some of their offseason moves.
Indiana Fever’s Offseason Mistake Could Haunt Them After Aliyah Boston Injury
The Indiana Fever and Stephanie White went on a guard spree this offseason. They signed Tyasha Harris, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and drafted Raven Johnson. While they did bring in Monique Billings, the lack of size in that team was concerning, even before the season tipped off.
“It seems like the Indiana Fever are very guard-heavy. They’re a very small team, and they might struggle during the season if they don’t get any significant post-player pickups,” DeMita said on the ‘Courtside Club.’ Even when it came to their final developmental spot, the Fever signed a guard in Bree Hall. Now, if Boston is ruled out for a significant time, the Fever could be in big trouble.
When they went with that ‘guard-heavy’ offseason, the Fever depended a lot on Boston in the front court. Billings came in at 6’4 after averaging 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds at Golden State. She was a veteran addition to this team but not one that could take over the game. At 6’5 Boston is the tallest in this squad.
The Fever already have problems on the defensive end and Boston is unquestionably one of their best defenders. She has improved on last year, winning the Unrivaled Defensive Player Of The Year.
Without Boston, the teams will have a pretty straightforward strategy: get into the paint. The Mystics had practically a free run during this game and teams could copy that blueprint. However, considering Boston’s injury history is very light, the Fever will hope it’s a minor setback. As for a team built around speed and guard play, Boston remains the piece holding the defensive structure together.
