In the wake of Caitlin Clark’s injury, questions arose about how the Indiana Fever could advance. Now, just one victory away from the Finals, the Fever owes much to stars like Kelsey Mitchell and Boston. The latter has even emerged as a formidable rival to MVP A’ja Wilson throughout the series. As Odyssey Sims said, “Make sure I got AB (Aliyah Boston) the ball. Nobody can stop her down (in the post),” when discussing knowing what she needed to do for Indiana to win. It’s no surprise, hence, that in the do-or-die Game 5, the 23-year-old will take center stage.

‘Yahoo Sports DAILY’ hosts Caroline Fenton and Jason Fitz recently touched base on the upcoming Game 5. While Caroline believed that Boston hasn’t been able to make a massive impact offensively, her presence is still something one should “pay attention to”. Furthermore, she made quite an impression in Game 4 by recording 24 points, aka her highest point total since the 27 points she recorded in late August. When joined with the offensive prowess of the rest of her players, the power forward/center can make a difference again.

So Fenton said, “We also saw the added razzle-dazzle with Aliyah Boston. We haven’t seen Aliyah Boston be a massive impact, at least offensively, really throughout the entirety of this postseason. Yes, her presence has been,  you know, one that you have to pay attention to,” before adding how, alongside Mitchell and Sims, the squad becomes a tough one.

“So, not only is Kelsey Mitchell able to get hers, not only is Odyssey Sims able to get hers, with 18 points last night, with the addition of Aliyah Boston, I mean, those three Yeah, having, you know, double-digit scores, two of them in the 20s. That’s not something that I think very many teams are able to do against that Aces’s defense. The Aces have the best defense in the WNBA, including Aj’a Wilson, the co-defensive player of the year,” said Fenton.

“So, the Fever, I want to keep counting them out, because they’re not at full strength, because the Fever don’t have Caitlin Clark, or Sophie Cunningham, or Aari McDonald, or Sydney Colson, and yet they still find ways to win.”

The Indiana Fever winning Game 4 certainly came as a shock to many. After all, DraftKings Sportsbook placed the odds at -4.5 in favor of the Aces. Furthermore, even the ESPN crew of Carolyn Peck, Andraya Carter, and former WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike placed their odds on the Aces. Despite that, the Fever emerged victorious, even as A’ja Wilson added 31 points to the overall total. Efficiency played a key role in this, with Odyssey Sims’ Total Shot percentage standing at 77.3%, Kelsey Mitchell’s at 55.2%, and Aliyah Boston’s at 57.9%.

But it was on the back of Boston that the Fever were able to force a Game 4.

As Wilson tried to take over in an effort to close out the series, Boston responded point for point. In the second half, Wilson scored 19, just narrowly surpassing Boston’s 17. Boston’s performance kept the Fever in control for much of the final two quarters before Indiana began to pull away. With 2:38 remaining, Boston’s turnaround jumper gave the team a five-point lead, and shortly after, Mitchell hit a floater while drawing a foul, stretching the lead to seven with a minute left.

Throughout a season marked by challenges, especially in the latter half, Boston and Mitchell have been the team’s pillars. Mitchell has often carried the scoring load, but Boston has been the key anchor for Indiana. Both players have participated in every game this season, ranking first and second in minutes and points for the team. Beyond that, however, Boston also leads Indiana in rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.

And with her stat line, Boston became only the fourth player in WNBA playoff history to post a 24-point, 14-rebound, 5-assist game, and among them, only Fever Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings matched the combination of steals and blocks.

Not to forget that A’ja Wilson was held to just 27% shooting for just 16 points during Game 1. Boston was credited with personally holding the 2025 WNBA MVP to 6-22 when defending. When asked about her game plan for this, Boston replied, “Honestly, tryne kinda be annoying a little bit.” As renowned WNBA analyst Rachel A. DeMita highlighted, “If you hold A’ja to under 20 points in any game, the Aces aren’t winning”. With a game as crucial as Game 5 at stake, the Fever really should take any advice they get into consideration.

If the fans take Caroline Fenton’s remarks under consideration, then the feud between Aliyah Boston and A’ja Wilson will take center stage in Game 5. While we don’t know how that will go, we can assume that Wilson isn’t going to let her rival get several chances to draw fouls.

A’ja Wilson Criticized Aliyah Boston’s Fouls After ‘Special Whistle’ Remark

In a competitive series like the Semi-Finals, tensions can flare up. Therefore, it wasn’t that big of a surprise when Aliyah Boston trolled A’ja Wilson up a bit by saying, “Hey, Holly, we’re professionals. People are going to score the basketball. So, for me, like I said, just make sure she feels my presence. And if she hits a tough two, she hits a tough two.” Wilson did not respond to that. However, she did feel compelled to speak out on what she felt was a point of hypocrisy.

During the presser after Game 4, A’ja Wilson brought up the Fever star by stating, “But Aliyah did say I have a special whistle. She shot 13 today. She said I have a special whistle, which is cool”.

Sure, A’ja Wilson tends to go to the line more often than her teammates. During the regular season, she accumulated 248-290 free throws, which were the highest amongst her teammates. The player occupying the 2nd place, Jackie Young, accumulated only 127-142 free throws. Even in the playoffs, Wilson accumulated 35-48 free throws, while Aliyah Boston has shot only 16-23 free throws. However, Boston’s performance in Game 4 made it clear to Wilson that the fewer chances the Fever star gets to go to the line, the better.

Aliyah Boston or A’ja Wilson? Who will you be rooting for? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.