Aliyah Boston and Napheesa Collier Had to be Separated in WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Final

The game got chippy late as the Fever took down the Lynx to win the WNBA Commissioner's Cup.

Fever forward Howard separates Boston and Collier during the WNBA Commissioner's Cup final / Screengrab via Prime Video

Without superstar guard Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever defeated the Minnesota Lynx 74-59 Tuesday evening to win the WNBA Commissioner's Cup.

Fever star Aliyah Boston filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to help Indiana toward a convincing win which earned the team a nice payday. She battled down low against Lynx do-it-all forward and MVP candidate Napheesa Collier, who had 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals on the night.

Tensions boiled over late in the game as Boston bumped Collier while backing her down, which brought Collier to repay the favor with an awkward foul as Boston went up to the hoop. They briefly exchanged words after the whistle before teammates and officials stepped in the way. You can watch multiple angles of the play and following extracurricular activity below:

No audio but a look at what happened between Aliyah Boston & Phee pic.twitter.com/G8lVEjmryA

— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) July 2, 2025

No technical or flagrant fouls were called on the play—just a common shooting foul on Collier. From the replay, it appeared Collier took exception to Boston's forearm coming a bit high as she tried to create separation near the hoop. The bump did create some space as Collier tried to recover but ended up with her arm wrapped around Boston's shoulder.

Fever forward Natasha Howard, who led Indiana with 16 points Tuesday, stepped in to shuffle Boston away as she approached Collier while Lynx forward Alanna Smith stepped in front of her teammate. No harm, no [technical] foul, but an interesting moment of tension between two of the WNBA's best frontcourt players to end the Commissioner's Cup final.

---

More WNBA on Sports Illustrated

feed