It is no secret that the Indiana Fever have had a season full of unprecedented challenges. Sure, injuries are a part of sports, but rarely has any team had such rotten luck when it came to injuries. While Kelsey Mitchell did play a big role in Indiana’s success this year, there were plenty of others who also played a big role. One such player is Aliyah Boston. In the midst of Kelsey Mitchell’s season, Aliyah quietly had the best season of her career. But while she has played a big part, lately, she has been criticized by some.

The main reason for this criticism is her inconsistencies in the latter part of the season. With the Indiana Fever set for a tough matchup against the Las Vegas Aces tomorrow, the Fever’s hopes of advancing to their first WNBA finals since 2015 rely heavily on Aliyah Boston and her ability to dominate, or just cope with the likely MVP of the season, A’ja Wilson. In the recent episode of No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show podcast, WNBA reporters Zena Keita and Sabreena Merchant discussed the same.

Talking about the factors that will decide the outcome of this series, Zena Keita said, “I think the factors are gonna come down to bench and role players. We know Kelsey Mitchell’s gonna go off. We know that A’ja Wilson is going to go off. These stars can do that, right? And we know Aliyah Boston has shown some inconsistencies. You know, some of these stars have shown some inconsistencies. Who’s going to be the Lexie Hulls, coming off, crashing the glass the way she has? Who’s going to be the NaLyssa Smiths, playing the defense the way she has? I think there’s going to be so many factors when it comes to the role players.”

As Zena Keita said, it is kind of a given that both MVP candidates, A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Mitchell, will get their numbers and have a dominant series. But at this late in the season, when you have to face each other at least three times. It’s the role players and support cast that make the difference.

For Indiana, its biggest contributor in this role has been Aliyah Boston. Throughout the season, she has averaged 15 points per game. While she was consistently putting up decent numbers, in the last part of the season, an explosive performance is still missing from her.

In her last 8 games, her top score is 15 points. Granted, her points have come at a decent efficiency, but what the Indiana Fever needs from her right now is to be a formidable one-two punch with Kelsey Mitchell. Sure, the Indiana Fever have a lot of support pieces that can also contribute to their success, but in the modern WNBA, you need at least two stars to dethrone a team with a championship pedigree like the Las Vegas Aces. With the teams set to have their first game on September 21, it will be interesting to see if Aliyah Boston can produce an electric performance.

How has Aliyah Boston Fared Against the Los Angeles Aces this Season?

The Indiana Fever vs the Las Vegas Aces rivalry this year has been very interesting. Even though the Aces are the second seed, it was actually the Indiana Fever that won their season series 2-1. But there is a big asterisk when it comes to this series. All three of their matches against each other were done by late July. Since then, the Indiana Fever has had a significantly different roster. One could argue whether it’s better or worse, but it is different nonetheless.

But throughout all the changes, one of the few players who is set to play a big part in this series and has avoided the injury bug is Aliyah Boston. In the 2025 season, Aliyah Boston’s performances remained relatively consistent until the final 5 regular-season games. Since then, the Indiana Fever fans have been waiting for a big performance from her. While they did manage to coast without that kind of performance against the Atlanta Dream, the Las Vegas Aces are a different beast. But, luckily for the Fever fans, a big performance from her may be coming soon.

In their matchups this year, Aliyah Boston has performed well. She is averaging 19.6 points per game. What’s even more exciting is that these games have come at a good efficiency. Replicating that (or even better) is of paramount importance if the Indiana Fever wants to make it to the WNBA finals. The Las Vegas Aces’ squad is brimming with talent, with the likes of A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, NaLyssa Smith, and Chelsea Gray to name a few.

To overcome this stacked roster, the Indiana Fever is going to need Aliyah Boston at her best. Will she be able to replicate her great regular-season performances in the playoffs?