Aliyah Boston and the Indiana Fever failed to advance in the 2026 WNBA playoffs, with the Las Vegas Aces eliminating them in three games in the first round.
Indiana won only Game 2 at home, losing both Games 1 and 3 on the road. In the deciding Game 3, the Fever couldn’t find a way to stop Aces star A’ja Wilson, who finished the contest with 36 points and 10 rebounds.
Boston recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds in the Game 3 loss. Overall, she averaged 19.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 block in the series against the Aces.
It was certainly a disappointing result for the Fever, who entered the season with championship expectations after making it to the semifinals last year.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Now, speaking about their performance in the playoffs, Boston highlighted some of the mistakes the Fever made and some things they could have done better.
For one, Boston thought it would have benefited them to have home-court advantage. Indiana finished sixth with a 28-16 record in the regular season, although they were in contention for a top-four spot until their last two games.
“Win more games in the regular season so you can start at home. How about that?” Boston said on her “Post Moves” podcast when co-host Candace Parker asked her what she learned from the playoffs.
Boston proceeded to highlight the Fever’s major flaw during the series, noting that there were plenty of times when they had “empty possessions.”
“I mean for us, once again like Game 1, I feel like it was combating those runs. It was a conversation for us all season. Sometimes we go too long with some empty possessions and like even if the other team doesn’t score like we need those,” Boston explained.
“Especially when you know you’re going up against [an] Aces squad where they can score. We have to be better at capitalizing at those and I just didn’t feel like we did that.”
Parker agreed with Boston’s sentiment, even pointing out how the Fever had plenty of misses and turnovers in the closing stages of Game 3. The Fever scored only three points in the final three minutes of the contest.
Indiana certainly came close to winning the series against the Aces. Unfortunately, when the pressure was high, they couldn’t deliver.
