How Aliyah Boston had career year despite nagging injury: 'Count it all as joy'

INDIANAPOLIS — Aliyah Boston persevered through injury for the entire 2026 WNBA campaign.

The Indiana Fever center suffered a right lower-leg injury during Unrivaled. She missed four regular season games this year. Boston started the postseason listed as questionable and experienced a “flare-up” in the Fever’s regular-season finale vs. the Minnesota Lynx.

Boston discussed her injury during Fever exit interviews Saturday. The three-time All-Star plans to talk with the medical team during the offseason.

“We’ll be talking and seeing what we want to do from there, but nothing’s decided yet,” Boston said.

Boston’s “grateful” attitude outweighs any anxiety ambiguity may cause.

“I definitely started the year with a lot of uncertainty. I think there were definitely some games where I was hindered a little bit, and then obviously we know I missed some games,” Boston said. “It definitely was a change for me because I’m somebody that just loves competing, loves to play and I never like to sit out. It definitely had its impact, but we made it through a full season, so we’re grateful.”

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Boston played in 127 straight WNBA games before the injury sidelined her. Before Indiana’s Game 1 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, Boston admitted she felt as if she’s “played 40, 40-plus games this season.” Las Vegas defeated Indiana 94-83 in Game 3 on Thursday. Boston had 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.

Boston shot a career-high 40.6% from 3 in 2026, a part of her game she described as a “key piece” to her growth. Boston and the coaching staff worked on her ability to stretch the game last offseason. Boston said seeing consistency with the 3 was “pretty big” and hopes to improve her marksmanship this offseason.

She averaged 16.1 points and 1.5 blocks per game, both career highs. “Defensively, everyone that I compete against, my goal is to make them hit tough shots,” Boston said. She did that and more. Boston added eight rebounds and three assists per night. 

Boston led Indiana to a 28-16 record. Guard Tyasha Harris and forward Damiris Dantas‘ injuries set them back. Online trolls tried to set them up. Boston commended her Fever teammates for their work ethic and unity amid trial.

“Grateful to have the women in this locker room that we had. Not every season’s perfect. You’re gonna have your ups and downs, but we stuck together through it all,” Boston said. “Obviously, when you look back at games you wish you didn’t drop early, and maybe that would have been a difference. But, here we are, right? There’s nothing we can do right now. But I’m always grateful.

“We worked really hard. We were in the gym a lot. Everyone put in so much extra work, and what I’m most proud of is you continue to see different people step up per game. That goes to show everyone’s growth throughout the season.”

Growth, it’s gradual, often not seen by the individual experiencing it. But even as Boston recognizes the Fever’s evolution, she’s self aware enough to acknowledge her own. 

“She’s a lot stronger, I’ll tell you that,” Boston said when asked how she’s grown mentally. “I’ve been able to adapt to games that we’ve dropped, or even just being here and being able to look back at film and be like, ‘OK, this is where we went wrong.’ Last year, I was a lot weaker-minded when it came to that. I’m someone who has that perfectionist mindset, so it’s always hard when you lose, or you feel like you don’t perform your best or you struggle in any type of area.

“But this year, I continue to look at it as: ‘Right now, you’re here, you’re hooping, you get another opportunity to step on the court, and you get to play. So take it as that and count it all as joy.'”

Joshua Heron is an enterprise and Fever reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @HeronReports.Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.

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