Aliyah Boston Has Been 'Cooking' in Caitlin Clark's Absence

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Beth Mishler-Elmore | Last updated Jun 13, 2025 2:42 PM ET

Now in Year 3, Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston is showing the kind of versatility and leadership the team hoped for when it selected her first overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft.

The unfortunate injury to fellow starter Caitlin Clark has forced Boston to shift her role a bit. Without Clark, who leads Indiana in both scoring (19.0 points a game) and assists (9.3 per game), Boston has made herself the team's go-to dime-dropper.

In the four games playing alongside Clark, Boston averaged 18.5 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists. In the five games Clark has been out, she has focused more on passing than scoring, averaging 11.0 points, 5.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game. She's also shooting a career-high 63.2% from the field so far this season and is boasting a career-high in blocked shots (1.6 per game).

On the June 11 episode of The Ringer WNBA Show, host Seerat Sohi discussed Boston's performance this season with Meghan L. Hall of USA Today’s For the Win, and both were in agreement: Boston has been lights out.

"She's having a fantastic year with Caitlin Clark on the floor and without Caitlin Clark on the floor," Hall said. "I just think that speaks to the growth that Aliyah Boston has had. She was panned, unfortunately, last year for this slow start to the season."

"Boston's cooking and she's shooting very, very well too and she's way more confident in the paint," Hall added. "Footwork has been really good too."

Clark, who last played on May 24, will return Saturday against the New York Liberty, per the AP's Tim Reynolds. While the Fever have to be excited about her return, seeing how Boston played in CC's absence also has to hearten head coach Stephanie White and company.

Barring a setback, Caitlin Clark “is ready to roll” tomorrow for Indiana vs. New York.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 13, 2025

“It’s huge,” White said about Boston’s passing, via SB Nation's Jacob Rude. “It’s why we make that a priority and we don’t want her to just be a hub from the trail position, right? We want her to be a scorer and facilitator from all five positions on the floor. So wherever we’re able to get her the ball, we want her to think score first. And then if she doesn’t have it and doesn’t like it, then we’ll facilitate out of it.”

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

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