Aliyah Boston is working on her confidence ahead of third year with the Indiana fever – and part of that confidence will come from star in Unrivaledthe new 3×3 all-court league in Miami.
Boston, the No. 1 pick of 2023 and WNBA Rookie of the Yearis coming off another successful year with the Fever. She was an All-Star for the second straight season and played a key role in Indiana’s offensive play, leading the team with 8.9 rebounds per game and finishing third with 14 points per game.
Still, she says, there are always things she can work on.
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Boston had a bit of a slow start to the 2024 season, even after practicing a lot gaining muscle and weight during her first WNBA offseason. Her increased muscularity helped her hold her own against bigger positions in the league, but the lack of organized basketball in the offseason gave her another learning curve early in the season.
Hopefully Unrivaled will help fill this gap.
“Allowing myself to work in space and allowing myself to have confidence in the things I worked on in the offseason, I think that’s the most important thing,” Boston said. “Knowing that I put in the work, and knowing that I put in the time, and knowing that these things will get done.”
Unrivaled is a new 3×3 league debuting this WNBA offseason, founded by women’s basketball stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. It is a 10-week season based in Miami, and it was created both to allow top players to earn money in the offseason without going overseas and to enroll in WNBA prioritization rules. The league will end on March 10, well before players are expected to report to their respective teams for training camp.
Boston will join the Vinyl Basketball Club, which includes Dearica Hamby, Jordin Canada, Rhyne Howard, Rae Burrell and Arike Ogunbowale.
This type of game places more emphasis on defense, especially with the full court aspect and only three players on the court for each team at a time. This will be a good job for Boston, who can bring this increased defensive effort to the Fever (one of the worst defensive teams in the league) in 2025.
“I think there’s a lot of floor space, so as individuals we’ve got to make sure we protect our own, because it’s going to be tough,” Boston said. “You can’t really pack the paint, because everyone has the ability to shoot the 3 and shoot it well, so it’s just about making sure you’re able to guard yours. We want to play fast, and I feel like that’s how we play in the league anyway. It’s a pretty fast-paced game, so we’ll continue on this path.
Boston has already gotten a head start working with the Fever’s new staff, which includes former Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White and player development coach Keith Porter. Porter even traveled to Massachusetts, where Boston was training, in December to work with her before showing up at Unrivaled.
In addition to solidifying parts of her game that she already has, she and Porter have been working on new aspects heading into her third year in the league in a few months.
“I just continue to be quick but also balanced in the middle post, especially being confident in my shots,” Boston said of her training session with Porter. “I think it was super awesome that Keith came to Mass to practice with me, and we just continue to work on that and obviously expanding my game, just being able to attack from different angles. “
This article was originally published on the Indianapolis Star: Unmatched 3×3 Will Hone Aliyah Boston’s Skills for Indiana Fever
