Aliyah Boston Names Keys to Defending A’ja Wilson Before Fever vs Aces Playoff Game

Indiana Fever star Aliyah Boston knows what she must to do slow Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson down.

Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) defends Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22). | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Indiana Fever will need to at least somewhat contain superstar forward A'ja Wilson if they have a chance of upsetting the Las Vegas Aces in their WNBA playoff series.

Thankfully for Indiana, they have arguably the best person equipped to slow Wilson down in Aliyah Boston—assuming she's healthy enough to play.

Boston spoke with the media after Saturday's practice and was asked what about defending Wilson brings out the best in her, defensively.

"I feel like defensively, everyone that I'm competing against, my goal is to just kind of make them hit tough shots," Boston said, per Arion Armeniakos. "I feel like when you look at A'ja, I mean, she's a pro, right? She's MVP for a reason. She hits tough shots. But my goal is to have to make her take a lot of tough shots to score.

"So, for me, just making sure I'm focused, making sure I'm playing clean, and just being ready in that angle," Boston added.

Aliyah Boston is one of very few players that has shown ability to somewhat slow A’ja Wilson down.

Wilson averaged 23 and 12 against the Fever this season, which is great. But the 19-48 FG (39.5%) she shot = Boston’s defense making an impact.

I asked AB what about the A’ja… pic.twitter.com/RR4PnCpz3m

— Arion Armeniakos (@ArionArmeniakos) September 26, 2026

It's clear that Boston's key when matching up against Wilson is forcing her to take tough shots whenever possible.

The statistics show that Boston has done well in this regard. A'ja's 39.6% field goal percentage against the Fever this season is the lowest percentage she has against any team this year, and Boston's defense is the primary reason for this.

Aliyah Boston and A'ja Wilson's Past Matchups Focus on Physicality

Boston and Wilson are two of the most physical frontcourt players in the WNBA, and physicality is always present when these two go toe-to-toe in the paint.

Both have spoken about this in the past. Boston has said that "trying to kind of be annoying a little bit" and "trying to make sure my presence is felt" against Wilson in the paint have been key elements in guarding her in the past.

As for Wilson, she said after a 2025 game that she took exception to Boston saying she got a "special whistle" after a game in which the Aces star took six free throws when Boston took 13.

There's clearly a lot of mutual respect between Boston and Wilson. But there's also a lot of competitive fire between them, which can manifest in physical play.

Boston will not only have to force Wilson to take tough shots, but she'll also need to assert her physicality throughout this best-of-three series. And her doing so will start on Sunday.