South Carolina Basketball: Aliyah Boston receives honor everyone knew was coming

Aliyah Boston put up one of the greatest rookie seasons in the history of the WNBA. She led the entire league in field goal percentage (the first rookie to ever accomplish the feat), and she led all WNBA rookies in averaging 15.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks. She also had more offensive rebounds than any player in the WNBA.

On Monday, it was announced, to the surprise of absolutely no one, that Aliyah Boston was the WNBA Rookie of the Year. She had already been named to the WNBA All-Rookie first team and was the Associated Press Rookie of the Year. Boston was also just the sixth rookie ever to be selected as a starter for the WNBA All-Star Game.

She was the fifth unanimous selection for the award in league history (fellow Gamecock legend Aja Wilson was the most recent in 2018). Boston is the third South Carolina basketball alum to win the award, joining Wilson and Allisha Gray.

Aliyah Boston is the second Indiana Fever player to win the Rookie of the Year, following in the footsteps of Tamika Catchings (who actually won the award in her second year after missing her first season due to injury). Catchings went on to a Hall of Fame career, something that seems to be in the cards for Boston one day, as well.

Fellow Gamecock Aja Wilson was ridiculously snubbed in MVP voting. In the closest vote of all-time, Wilson actually finished 3rd, something that elicited the ire of many around the WNBA world, including South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley. One panelist even voted Wilson 4th, something that cost her the trophy. Had she been swapped with Breanna Stewart on that ballot, Wilson would have been the MVP instead of Stewart.

After Aliyah Boston’s Rookie of the Year performance this season, it would be no surprise if she puts herself in the MVP picture as soon as next season.