Sheryl Swoopes Calls Out Aliyah Boston for Indiana Fever Playoff Performance
The Indiana Fever will need to produce a victory over the Atlanta Dream on September 16 if they're to keep their 2025 WNBA season alive.
The reason for this is that the first round of the WNBA playoffs is a best-of-three series. And since Indiana lost by a score of 80-68 on September 14 in Atlanta, they need to even the series on their home court on Tuesday to head back to the Dream's stomping ground for a winner-take-all Game 3.
Given how depleted Indiana's roster is because of injuries, they need elite performances from their top players — specifically Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston, who are their two active All-Stars from this 2025 WNBA season.
Mitchell produced a great performance on Sunday, as she finished with a game-high 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting from the field, along with adding 4 assists. Aliyah Boston, on the other hand, struggled, as she only scored 8 points on 3 of 9 shooting (although she did secure 12 rebounds and tally 5 assists).
Boston has a ton of responsibility in this series. Not only is she expected to be a juggernaut on offense, but it's her job to contain Atlanta's All-Star center Brionna Jones on defense, along with doing the same with WNBA legend Brittney Griner, who spells Jones off the bench.
Not to mention that Boston's primary back-up, Damiris Dantas, missed Game 1 (and is inactive for Game 2) because of a concussion she suffered in practice last week.
Status Report for tomorrow's game vs. Atlanta:
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 15, 2025
Chloe Bibby - Out (left knee)
Caitlin Clark - Out (right groin)
Sydney Colson - Out (left knee)
Sophie Cunningham - Out (right knee)
Damiris Dantas - Out (concussion protocol)
Aari McDonald - Out (right foot) pic.twitter.com/R3ITRV6uXb
Sheryl Swoopes Asserts Aliyah Boston Must Do More For Fever
Boston having a lot on her plate this series didn't keep the iconic Sheryl Swoopes (who is a four-time WNBA champion) from making it clear that she expects more from Indiana's center, which was conveyed with comments she made during a September 16 episode of The Women's Hoops Show.
"It's the playoffs. And so the players that have been showing up and carrying the team all season, not only do you have to show up for the playoffs, but you've gotta take your game to a different level," Swoopes said.
"Aliyah Boston, you've got to give Kelsey Mitchell some help," she added. "Kelsey Mitchell is doing all Kelsey Mitchell can do. She is. So everyody else, they've got to show up, they've got to give her help."
Swoopes is right in that a big performance from Boston on Tuesday will go a long way for Indiana's hopes of evening the series and creating a winner-take-all Game 3 scenario on Thursday.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever 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.
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