South Carolina Basketball: Aliyah Boston wins another WNBA award
By Kevin Miller
Aliyah Boston is a special basketball player. This isn’t news to anyone who has watched the Virgin Islands native play the game. The 5-star high school prospect became one of the country’s best performers in college and was the clear-cut choice as the 1st-overall pick of the Indiana Fever in the 2023 WNBA Draft.
After a dominant college career at South Carolina that saw her win a National Player of the Year award and two National Defensive Player of the Year awards, Boston was expected to make a splash in the WNBA as soon as she arrived. However, her game has translated well to the pro game even faster than many anticipated.
In May, Boston broke a WNBA record by starting her career with three straight games scoring in double-figures while shooting over 60% from the field in each contest. She extended that streak to 4 games before fellow Gamecock A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces ended it. She was then named the WNBA’s Rookie of the Month for the shortened May schedule.
Her strong play continued in June, and the rookie was rewarded with a WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week selection. The 6’5″ center for the Indiana Fever put up 22.3 points per game, 9.7 rebounds per game, and 1.7 blocks per game.
She also became the first player in league history to score 24 points, grab 14 rebounds, dish out six assists, block a shot, tally a steal, and shoot 75% from the field all in the same game. No player has ever had that stat line in WNBA history…no player but Aliyah Boston.
Boston leads the entire WNBA in field goal percentage and leads all the league’s rookies in points per game, rebounds per game, blocks per game, and minutes per game. With those numbers, it is safe to assume that she is well on her way to bringing home the WNBA’s Rookie of the Month in June, as well, and her trophy case surely will continue to fill up in the coming months and years.
South Carolina basketball fans were lucky to watch Aliyah Boston during her Gamecock career, but thanks to the WNBA’s growing exposure, Gamecock fans can continue watching her professional career.