“I really don’t think she gets credit for her growth”: Dawn Staley backs Aliyah Boston amid Fever’s struggle after Caitlin Clark’s injury

South Carolina women's basketball head coach Dawn Staley endorsed Aliyah Boston as the perfect replacement for Caitlin Clark at Indiana. Clark has been out of action since sustaining a groin injury last month, leaving the Fever to struggle in her absence.

On the “Post Moves” podcast with Fever star Boston and WNBA legend Candace Parker, Staley insisted that Boston has not been given the credit she deserves in the women's professional league.

"She's (Boston) there, like, she's in her third season. I mean she’s a rebounder, she’s a scorer, when she gets the ball. But now she's added an element of passing, like, it's like she gets better every single year. And I really don’t think she gets credit for her growth. Now I would say that people are given the most improved... I can understand that. But Aliyah gotta be in the conversation, right?" the Hall of Famer said in a clip shared on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday.

"Got to be in the conversation. Aliyah got to be in the conversation, you know, as MVP. But the losing is the problem. Ya'll losing too many games," Staley added.

Staley also acknowledged that Indiana has plenty of talent in its roster, but injuries have hit the team at an undesirable rate.

Dawn Staley admits getting interviewed for NBA coaching job

The offseason has been a productive one for South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. Staley led the Gamecocks to the national championship final, where they lost to the UConn Huskies.

Despite dominating the collegiate basketball level, Staley revealed on the “Post Moves” podcast that she interviewed with the New York Knicks this summer for a coaching job.

However, the Gamecocks' head coach will not be the first woman to coach an NBA team. The Knicks have remained silent on why they couldn't hire Staley, but the former six-time WNBA All-Star claimed she hurt her chances by asking an important question during the interview.

“How, if you hired me as the first female (head) coach in the NBA, would it impact your daily job? Because it would,” Staley said, via NJ.com. “You’re going to be asked questions that you don’t have to answer if you’re a male coach. There’s going to be the media and all this other stuff that you have to deal with that you didn’t have to deal with and don’t have to deal with when you hire a male."

“That got them to thinking, ‘Maybe she’s right.’ I felt the energy change after that. So, I shot myself in the foot by … being inquisitive and asking all those darn questions.”

The Knicks eventually hired Mike Brown as the replacement for Tom Thibodeau, who led the team to the Eastern Conference finals last season.