6 days ago
Aliyah Boston's peace used to depend on basketball. Now it doesn't, and it's paying off for 3-time All-Star
INDIANAPOLIS – Aliyah Boston sits courtside at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. She just finished her pregame warm-up and it's about an hour before the Indiana Fever tip off against the Las Vegas Aces in an early July matchup. Roughly halfway through her five-minute conversation with IndyStar, the Fever forward shifts the topic from basketball to books.
Boston recently finished the "Housemate" book series and South Carolina coach Dawn Staley's "Uncommon Favor". Her next book delivery will include "Variety", "Too Late" and the "Silent Patient" all packed with psychological thrill and suspense.
"The crazy stuff? Yeah, that's me," Boston says.
Reading is Boston's way of getting away. Away from the pressure. Not only from the external pressure basketball brings, but also the internal pressure she places on herself to be perfect.
That's the battle for Boston. Perfectionism versus grace.
In her first two years in the WNBA, Boston would often condemn herself after missed shots or poor performances. However, in Year 3, the young woman from the U.S. Virgin Islands has learned how to walk in grace.
'You feel like nothing is good enough. You always put that pressure on yourself to a point where you almost take yourself out of the game before you're even out of there,' Boston said about the dangers of perfectionism. 'As a perfectionist, I always have to be great in everything I do, and sometimes that's taken me out of rhythm because I'm like 'Why am I messing up, why am I messing up?'
'When in reality, it's a basketball game and you should not rely on basketball for your happiness. That's something in this third season, I've gotten a lot better at.'
Boston airballed a 3 to close the half in the July 3 matchup against the Aces. She responded with a smile and shared a high five with teammate Kelsey Mitchell —a small moment, but a mark of immense progress.
Recognizing every day she's able to play basketball as a blessing has helped Boston combat invasive thoughts. She's become more patient with herself and if there's a mishap, there's a simple antidote.
'Go back to work,' she said. "Basketball is a game. Sometimes it goes your way, and sometimes it doesn't.'
Fever coach Stephanie White said she talked with Boston at the beginning of the offseason about her being used as a 'hub.' White and the Fever recognized Boston played with her back to the basket in Year 1 and wanted to utilize Boston as a decision-maker this year.
White called Boston a 'high IQ' player and admitted at the beginning of the season, her star player deferred 'too much' to facilitating. The two had a conversation in which White reminded Boston although she trusts her to make the right pass, she urged her to take advantage of scoring opportunities.
The three-time WNBA All-Star is averaging 15.6 points per game and 3.7 assists, both career-highs. Boston is also averaging a career low in turnovers with 1.4 per game. To White, Boston's patience with herself has contributed to a stellar season.
'She's a Type A perfectionist and wants everything to go right all the time, so she's hard on herself. Your greatest strength can sometimes be your greatest weakness,' White said. 'Giving herself grace, allowing herself to go through that, recognize that, and letting it go has helped her bounce back.'
Aces forward A'ja Wilson is familiar with the pressure Boston feels. Wilson and Boston are products of Staley's decorated South Carolina program. In her first six seasons, Wilson won three MVPs and two WNBA championships.
While Wilson said Staley prepared all her players to 'be the best pros we can be,' she empathized with Boston's early career experience.
'You've got to know how to carry yourself in different spaces, and that's something I see in Aliyah with how she's handled herself in this franchise and throughout the league,' Wilson told IndyStar. 'And it's not easy every single day waking up and being the star or the big that everyone relies on, but she still shows up and does that every single day.'
As Boston navigates her fight with perfection, she has helped her teammates process their mental struggles.
Forward Natasha Howard shot 28% from the free-throw line in the first six games this season. In the past 10 games, Howard is shooting 85% from the charity stripe. The three-time WNBA champion credited Boston for her improvement.
'She would tell me, 'Get out of your head. It's that little voice in the back of your head telling you you ain't gon' make it, so block that out and tell yourself you're going to make these free throws.'
'I've been making my free throws ever since she told me that,' Howard said with a laugh.
Though learning how to give herself grace took time, extending it toward others was never an issue for Boston. When Mitchell's father died unexpectedly in March 2024, the Fever guard said Boston was there in 'every way' and said having genuine people like Boston during that season 'feels good.'
'Partnerships are always impactful, and when you can have a good bond with your teammates and sisterhood along with that, it's a great thing to have. You don't find it often,' Mitchell told IndyStar. 'So when you find good, genuine people like AB, you grow to accept and love people like her.'
Boston's positive reputation stems back to her high school days at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts. Worcester girls basketball coach Dan Sullivan coached the boys team during Boston's time at the private school, but was her advisor on her senior project, which focused on media broadcasting.
With the likes of Staley and Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma attending her games, all the lights were on Boston. However, Sullivan said Boston tried to deflect conversations about herself while on campus. She cared more about her friends, teammates and school life.
'She was friends with everyone on campus and her lively personality endeared her to the community,' Sullivan said. 'If not for her height, you wouldn't think she was a basketball player because she never talked about the attention and the recruiting.'
Wayne Bolden was Boston's assistant coach at Worcester. He echoed Sullivan's remarks.
'She knew she was gifted but didn't necessarily show it,' Bolden said. 'She just went out and was a person on campus.'
Boston joined South Carolina in 2019. She led the Gamecocks to a national title in 2022 and was a two-time Naismith Defensive Player of the Year during her four years under Staley.
The Fever drafted Boston with the first overall pick in 2023. Upon entering the WNBA, Boston had to re-learn who she was.
'Coming out of college, your identity is basketball because that's what you do,' Boston said. 'Fresh off a national championship, Aliyah was a college superstar that had to figure out the new world that doesn't involve text books. Coming into this new world was just finding who I am and what I like to do.
'When you get into the real world, outside of college basketball, there's so many opportunities to change who you are to fit in, to be liked by everyone and that's never been a priority for me. Who I am is who I am. Those I attract are meant for me and those that I don't it's okay.'
With stardom comes a temptation to change that Boston hasn't succumbed to. But the internal wrestle between perfectionism and grace will undoubtedly continue.
After all, Boston is an athlete. More so, she's human.
And woven into human nature is a desire to be the best.
But day by day, that fight gets a little easier for Boston as she remembers her skill and on-court performance don't determine her greatness.
Greatness is already in her.
'Every morning I get up and I listen to my devotionals. A scripture I've been holding to this season is, 'If God is in her, she shall not fail,'' Boston said. 'Whether that's a basketball win or loss, you just think that, 'God is with me no matter what and every trial, every tribulation is to work out for your good.'
'This life I'm living is a blessing, not just to be an athlete but to be a role model to other people and to live out my dream, which is playing professional basketball.'
