USVI native and WNBA star Aliyah Boston.
WNBA player Aliyah Boston has begun her WBNA career just as she ended her stint as a collegiate athlete: showered in acclaim. The Indiana Fever center has captured the coveted “Rookie of the Year” award from the Associated Press (AP). She was also named in the AP’s WNBA All-Rookie team.
The annual award caps off a stunning rookie season for Boston, who led all first-year players in multiple categories, including scoring (averaging 14.5 per game), blocked shots (1.3 per game), and steals (1.3 per game). She finished the season with the second-most rebounds for a rookie in WBNA history (335), and third in field goals (233). Boston also set several records along the way. She is the first rookie to ever begin her career with double-digit scores in four games straight. She is the only WBNA rookie to end five straight games with at least 15 points, eight rebounds and a success rate of over 50% from the field.
The Rookie of the Year honor is not Boston’s first for the season, however. The 6’5” power player won WNBA Rookie of the Month accolades three times during her first year. She was also once awarded the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
Senator Marvin Blyden issued a statement congratulating Boston for her laudable rookie season. The sponsor of Bill 35-0091, a resolution to honor Boston, called her Rookie of the Year award “an accomplishment not only for Ms. Boston but for our entire territory.”
Mr. Blyden noted that the award means Boston is even more closely following in the footsteps of Tim Duncan, the Crucian basketball legend who went on to become a 5-time NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs and a 15-time NBA All-Star. Duncan was also selected by the Spurs as the first overall pick in the 1997 draft, played center during his career, and won the Rookie of the Year award after his first professional year of basketball.
Noting that the legislation to honor Aliyah Boston would be heard in committee in a few weeks, Senator Blyden says he is eagerly anticipating the opportunity to share “a tremendous moment of celebration with Aliyah, her family, and the entire Virgin Islands community.”
