Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Aliyah Boston Addresses Unfortunate Team USA Development

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Angelo Guinhawa | Last updated Mar 13, 2026 10:20 AM ET

Indiana Fever star Aliyah Boston had a great 2025 season in the WNBA. She averaged 15.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 44 games, earning an All-Star berth as well as All-Defensive Second Team and All-WNBA Second Team honors.

Boston has certainly proven herself to be one of the most promising centers in women's basketball today, which prompted Team USA to include her in the roster for the FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

Unfortunately, Boston was removed from the lineup just over a week before the qualifiers started. The Fever star suffered a lower-body injury during her run in the 2026 Unrivaled season, preventing her from joining Team USA.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and forward-center Aliyah Boston (7) react during a game.© David Butler II-Imagn Images

While Boston has remained supportive of Team USA, particularly of her Fever teammate Caitlin Clark who is also with the national team, she was naturally disappointed that she got injured injured and was unable to join the team in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

"I'm so sad I'm not in Puerto Rico," Boston told Candace Parker in their podcast, "Post Moves." The two were discussing how stacked the Team USA roster was.

Boston tried to lighten the mood by mentioning that she had already "bought like bathing suits and everything" for the trip, making her removal from the lineup even more "unfortunate."

Throughout the segment, though, Boston showed her support for Team USA by repeatedly mentioning "Slay queens" as Parker read through the final Team USA roster.

The USA Basketball roster is STACKED! Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, Monique Billings & Kiki Iriafen make their debuts #USABWNT x #FIBAWWC pic.twitter.com/UGph6xRClj
— Post Moves with Candace Parker & Aliyah Boston (@PostMovesShow) March 11, 2026

It's definitely regrettable that Boston wasn't able to join Team USA. Her chemistry with Clark would have been a sight to behold on the international stage. Her dominance in the frontcourt would have been a major weapon for head coach Kara Lawson as well.

Hopefully, Boston will get another crack at the Team USA roster. The Americans already qualified for the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup, scheduled for Sept. 4-13 in Berlin, Germany, after winning the 2025 AmeriCup.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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