"I'm going to leave": Aliyah Boston takes sly dig at Fever fans while detailing hateful trolls tied to Caitlin Clark

Indian Fever star forward Aliyah Boston was straight to the point as she explained how she dealt with hateful comments from her own fanbase during her sophomore season. After taking the league by storm as a rookie, Boston struggled to maintain consistency in her second season with Caitlin Clark's arrival changing the team dynamics.

The Fever found a sudden surge of fame with what many call the "Caitlin Clark effect." However, the increased attention also attracted negative comments and at times, Boston has been the victim of toxic online comments, which even led her to deactivate her social media accounts.

Aliyah Boston addressed this several times last season, and on Friday, WNBA legend Sue Bird brought it up again, asking:

“The Caitlin Clark effect is definitely real. How did you experience it? I know early on you talked about logging off social media. What did you learn in that period of time? And by the way, the social media aspect is not Caitlin's fault.”

The star forward kept her thoughts brief about this, trying not to add too much fuel to the fire.

“I think you just kind of embrace that, Boston said. “And when it comes to social media, obviously it's just people... trolling. But for me, it's like, I am someone that already puts so much pressure on myself. And for you to come in and tell me, like, 'Dang, you're like the worst hooper I've ever seen in my life'. It's like, you know what? Hear me out. I'm going to leave. I'm going to exit.”

Development in the WNBA takes time, especially if a player already started out as well as Aliyah Boston did. In fact, in 2024, the entire Fever went through their worst run of inconsistency before locking down some wins down the stretch.

“We weren't given that grace period of getting to play with someone that you've never played with," Boston added. “The way we played the year before, a lot different. The way we played with Caitlin, completely different dynamics. So for me, it's like finishing some of those pocket passes that I might not have gotten before. Finishing on some of these different shots. I'm like, guys, we're learning. And then I also feel like people also forgot to ignore the fact that this was my second year.”

Statistically, Aliyah Boston’s improvement compared to her rookie season is hardly visible. She did have a slow start, but since then she improved in several tangible ways.

The 23-year-old, who is currently in her third season in the league, is one of their best catch-and-shoot threats, top post-up players, and most reliable pick-and-roll initiators. A lot of Boston’s game is still a work in progress, but development is clearly happening and will continue.

Aliyah Boston shines as Fever pull off one of the biggest WNBA Playoffs upsets ever

On Friday, the Indiana Fever emerged victorious in a dramatic do-or-die Game 3 of the first-round series, booking a place in the semifinals for the first time since 2015 at No. 3 seed Atlanta Dream's expense.

Aliyah Boston rescued the Fever with a go-ahead layup with 7.4 seconds left after a chaotic back-and-forth game.

The Fever missed six players, including Caitlin Clark. The Dream were expected to walk through the series easily, but succumbed to the Fever's late pressure, losing 87-85.

The Dream were the outright favorites with a clean bill of health. They also won a franchise-record 30 games to earn the No. 3 seed.

Boston scored 14 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. Kelsey Mitchell led the team with 24 points, while Odyssey Sims added 16. They now face the No. 2 seed, the Las Vegas Aces.