PHOENIX – Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston headed into the WNBA All-Star break with a smile on her face and a lot of hope for her team this season.
Boston is averaging 18 points and 9.5 rebounds in July alone while shooting 65% from the field. While preparing for her second WNBA All-Star appearance in two seasons in the league, Boston is excited to share the weekend with Fever teammates Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell on the court while having the chance to play with top WNBA talent she usually competes against on a nightly basis.
She attributes some of her success to building chemistry with her teammates Clark and Mitchell but gives the majority of the credit to her intentional efforts off the court to focus on her mental health.
“I feel like I started protecting my peace,” Boston told Andscape at the WNBA All-Star media pods on July 19. “I just made sure that I was doing stuff that I needed to do that benefits me so that when I get out on that court, I’m not really worried about anyone, anything — just me.”
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May was a hard month for the Indiana Fever. They finished with a 1-8 record, and Boston finished the month averaging 11 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, shooting 45.2% from the floor. The start of Year 2 wasn’t what many expected from the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year.
“I feel like it’s taken a lot of mental strength over anything because to start this season, honestly, I was not in a good spot. I felt like I was honestly starting over,” Boston said. “I’m trying to figure out my footing with everything again, and so I feel like there was just so much talking behind the noise, which was a big reason I got off social media. [I needed] to make sure that I’m doing what I need to do. Since then, I’ve just been able to focus on me [and] continue to work hard.
“Being an All-Star was definitely one of [the goals] because I feel like being an All-Star as a rookie is really impressive, but it’s always hard to come back and do it again.”
Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (right) shoots the ball against Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith in the first quarter at Target Center on July 14 in Minneapolis.
David Berding/Getty Images
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In May, Boston deleted social media, choosing to connect with family, spend time reading her Bible, and do whatever else she felt was necessary to preserve her mental health.
“I also ignore people, as silly as that sounds,” Boston said. “I do because I feel like sometimes to protect my peace it really has to be about me and that’s hard when you include everyone else in your life. Everyone feels like they need a little piece of you and sometimes it’s just like, ‘No, I’ll keep it.’ “
The social media scrutiny, especially on X (formerly Twitter), was deafening for Boston. South Carolina’s head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley understands how social media and comments can impact a young player.
“It plays on your psyche a little bit, and you have to adjust,” Staley said. “What I really am proud of is her ability to adjust and I think she’s better because of it. I don’t think she has the type of season that she’s having if she didn’t have to adjust to a different way of thinking [and] a different way of playing.”
Transitioning into the WNBA isn’t easy. Boston knows there’s a high level of talent in the league and that finding your footing in it takes time.
“I feel like the biggest misconception people have is that this talent just all of a sudden dropped out of the sky,” Boston said. “Because sometimes you’ll see people make comments like, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t know you were good.’ It’s like, ‘Did you watch [me]?’ So it’s kind of like with these new eyes they speak without thinking and I feel like when you really pay attention to this league you know the amount of talent that’s here [and] how hard it is to be in this league.”
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Protecting her peace off the court has translated onto the court for Boston. She’s keeping up with Clark’s pace, cashing in on transition baskets and connecting with Clark on pick and rolls. Since the 1-8 start, the Fever are 10-7 (11-15 overall).
“I just continued to make sure that I’m being consistent for my team, making sure I’m finishing my shots, finishing around the rim, making sure I’m running the floor, doing all little things because at the end of day like we have a great team,” Boston said. “We have a great squad and I’m making sure that I’m doing everything I can. It’s gonna be important for our team.”
Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (left) and guard Caitlin Clark (right) sit on the bench before the game against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on June 27 in Seattle.
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Since their rough start, Boston and Clark have showcased their chemistry on the floor. Clark was excited about getting to play with Boston, and the two No.1 overall picks (Clark in 2024, Boston in 2023) are a big reason why the Fever are currently in seventh place in the WNBA standings.
“She’s only getting better and better each game [and] continues to improve,” Clark said about Boston’s performance this season.
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Despite frustration and finding consistency on the court, Boston has made a conscious effort to build a strong relationship with Clark. While Clark was excited at the opportunity to play alongside Boston, the two built a rapport off the court that helped Clark flourish during her rookie season.
“Not only is she a great basketball player, but she’s a great person. She’s a great leader in our locker room. She’s always had my back,” Clark said. “She’s just somebody that I can lean on. But I think our chemistry and our connection just continues to grow.”
Boston knows firsthand the pressures of being the No.1 overall pick and the expectations to immediately play well in the league. After Clark’s WNBA record-breaking 19 assists against the Dallas Wings on July 17, Boston believes her teammate is living up to the lofty expectations.
“The biggest advice I gave Caitlin was just to be herself,” Boston said. “I remember early on in the season I told [Caitlin] with the attention that you have coming in here, sometimes you’re going to be expecting certain things, and they’re going to try and prove to you like this is a big league. You’re here now. [I tell her to] continue to be her and be patient.
“I feel like giving ourselves grace is something that is hard, especially when we’re competitors and we want everything to be perfect. I think she’s done a great job. She’s handled herself really well over the course of the entire season.”
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During the Fever’s first matchup against the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces on July 2, Aces forward A’ja Wilson noticed that Boston was playing with a level of patience she didn’t master until after the WNBA bubble in 2020.
“Aliyah is someone that really felt like she had to do it all in one motion or she felt like she had to do it all just because, once again, she’s the No. 1 draft pick, and coming in and there’s a lot of expectations,” Wilson said about Boston, who also played for Staley at South Carolina. “So I feel like she had to execute a lot of things all at once, versus this year I feel like she’s playing with a lot more patience, seeing things, dissecting the game, and picking it apart in a way that’s beneficial to her.”
Boston is heading into the All-Star Game with some momentum. She finished the Fever’s last game before the break with a season-high 28 points to go with eight rebounds and has posted double-digit points in 14 of her last 15 games.
Although the season was hard initially for the Fever, they have showcased some growth at the halfway mark.
“You just have to be in that moment and take that step back,” Boston said. “I feel like during the season, it’s really hard to really understand the growth that we had, especially when we’re looking at [it from] the wins and losses standpoint. But being able to take this break, to be able to see that, ‘Hey, we’ve had a great first half,’ now we just have to regroup and make sure that we finish out the rest of the season.”
Boston will spend the next several weeks resting during the Olympic break and hopes that when the league season returns on Aug. 15, she can fuel Indiana to its first postseason berth since 2016.
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“Playoffs is definitely one of [the goals]. It’s been a while since we’ve been back and I feel like last year we were on the cusp of it. That is something that needs to happen. I think we have a great group and can do it,” Boston said.
“We have to be a little bit better at that going into the second half of the season because everyone is competing for a playoff spot.”
Mia Berry is the senior HBCU writer for Andscape and covers everything from sports to student-led protests. She is a Detroit native (What up Doe!), long-suffering Detroit sports fan and Notre Dame alumna who randomly shouts, “Go Irish.”
This week’s Anatomy of a Goal is a historical one! We’re breaking down Boston Legacy FC’s first-ever goal.
Before we get into that, though, let’s do a quick Legacy heat check. I won’t dice words here: this team is struggling. It’s taken them three games to score a single goal, and they’ve conceded six. Boston has also been averaging the second-lowest expected goals per game thus far (0.60 xG, American Soccer Analysis), though it’s worth mentioning that we’re only three games into the season.
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BOSTON –– Viktor Arvidsson’s oldest daughter, Navy, turned five on Tuesday.
The dad, and Boston Bruins forward, celebrated the occasion by posting his fifth career hat trick that night at TD Garden in a 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars.
“That was pretty cool, I got a hat trick on her birthday,” Arvidsson said. “She’ll be happy, for sure.”
Arvidsson’s three goals earned the Bruins their fourth consecutive win against top-ranked opponents and extended his point streak to four games; he has nine points (five goals, four assists) through that stretch.
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“I think we have fun together, and we put a lot of emphasis on being hard on each other, really pushing each other,” Arvidsson said. “I think in that regard, we’re really happy where we are.”
The Bruins got out to a 2-0 lead by the end of the first period. Marat Khusnutdinov opened the scoring with his 15th goal of the season. David Pastrnak got the puck down low and chipped it up to Henri Jokiharju, who blasted a shot from the point. Khusnutdinov was there to knock in the rebound at 9:58.
Arvidsson doubled the advantage just as the B’s power play expired. Pavel Zacha threw the puck on net, Pastrnak collected the redirection and pushed it towards the crease where Arvidsson battled for positioning and tapped it in at 18:51 to make it 2-0. Zacha’s helper on the play extended his point streak to five games; he has five goals and four assists in that time.
“It always seems like we play better when we’re playing against better teams. For us, the playoffs already started a long time ago,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “I think that’s a good thing about our team right now – we want to get challenged right now.”
Dallas got on the board in the middle frame with a wrist shot from Jamie Benn at 4:49. Matt Duchene found the 2-2 equalizer at 16:53.
BOSTON –– The push continues for the Boston Bruins.
The B’s will host the Dallas Stars on Tuesday at TD Garden for a 7 p.m. puck drop in the teams’ second and final meeting this regular season.
“We’re playing against a really good hockey team. I feel like it feels a little bit the same when we played Minnesota the other night – on paper, a very good team. Obviously, on points and standings, too. Just very high-end talent throughout the lineup,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “It will be a handful, and we have to make sure we’re ready to go. Hopefully, we learned from big, emotional games in the past.”
Boston is coming off a 4-3 shootout win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday; the group collected all four points available on its back–to–back weekend. Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic’s fights in Columbus sparked the comeback for the Bruins.
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“We’re playing really good teams every single night,” Jeannot said. “It’s a really good build-up to the intensity of what’s to come, and we’re just going to continue to learn and grow from it, just like we’ve been doing all year. To have a come-from-behind win like that, it’s only going to help us.”
The Stars, who sit second in the NHL and the Central Division with 100 points, have clinched a playoff berth. The Bruins are in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 92 points.
“I think every game right now – it’s felt like playoffs for the last month or so. You can just definitely feel the urgency with every game. It’s no different tonight,” Kastelic said. “I think it’s great for everybody to get a taste of that, myself included. It’s really fun hockey to be part of this time of the year. With eight games to go, to be in the position we are, it’s some of the most fun I’ve had playing hockey in a long time. Hopefully there’s more to come, and tonight’s just another step.”
Henri Jokiharju will remain in the lineup for the Bruins in place of Mason Lohrei, who is working through a day-to-day upper-body injury, Sturm said. Jokiharju will skate on the second pair with Hampus Lindholm. The defenseman has 11 assists through 38 games this season while averaging 17:51 of ice time per night.
