Angel Reese Must Step Up For Team USA After Aliyah Boston Injury
The FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament begins on March 11 and runs through March 17, taking place in Puerto Rico.
Many of women's basketball's brightest stars will be competing for Team USA, including Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Angel Reese. Clark's teammate Aliyah Boston was also supposed to be a key part of the USA roster, but an injury she suffered at the end of her Unrivaled season has forced her out.
Team USA was already thin in frontcourt players when Boston was on the roster, as she was the only true center the team had. With her now sidelined, there are no true rim protectors and physical paint presences on the squad. USA Managing Director Sue Bird replaced Boston (and Sonia Citron) with Monique Billings and Rae Burrell. While both of these are solid picks, neither provides the same paint presence as Boston would have.
Angel Reese Could Become Team USA's Starting Center Amid Aliyah Boston Injury
This is where Angel Reese must come in.
While Reese isn't a true center, she is arguably the most physical player on Team USA's roster without Boston on the team. She is certainly their best rebounder and could enter the starting five, which means she'd match up against the other team's center.
The 2026 USA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Team! 🇺🇸 #USABWNT pic.twitter.com/fpRX0Rcfft
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) March 5, 2026
Reese has plenty of experience guarding big players. But without having any centers on the roster, it will be more critical than ever for her not get into foul trouble. And she also might have to be content with her being less of a focal point offensively, given that a lot of her attention will be on grabbing rebounds and playing defense.
Then again, a lot of Reese's impact is by getting offensive boards, which will play no matter what Team USA's strategy on the court ends up being.
For what it's worth, there's a very little chance that the USA is actually going to have a hard time against any of the teams they're facing in this tournament, and should win every game by a landslide.
But wins aren't the sole outcome of this qualifier tournament, given that the USA has already clinched a spot in the FIBA World Cup later this year. Instead, this is about many of the USA's young stars acclimating to each other and getting comfortable in new roles.
And Reese will be presented with a new role during this tournament, with Boston not being available. It will be fascinating to see how she can take advantage of this center opportunity.
With Aliyah Boston out, Angel Reese may become Team USA’s most important interior player in the FIBA World Cup qualifier. pic.twitter.com/d0FcsZxXo6
— Grant Young (@GrvntYoung) March 6, 2026
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
Follow GrvntYoung