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Fever star Aliyah Boston set to recieve highest high school honor from Worcester Academy

Modified Dec 12, 2024 11:10 GMT

Indiana Fever star Aliyah Boston is set to receive the highest honor from Alma Mater Worcester Academy. In its first, the high school has decided to retire Aliyah's jersey. In the athletic community, retiring a jersey is the highest achievement that is bestowed to honor an individual.

In an Instagram post, Sports Centre Next and ESPNW shared Boston's achievement.

"Aliyah's jersey will be the first retired in Worcester Academy history- a fitting tribute to her legendary achievements on and off the court. From leading the Hilltoppers to two NEPSAC Championships to earning Gatorade Player of the Year honors three times, Aliyah's impact on our community is unparalleled," the post said.

Last month, WNBA All-Stars Brienna Stewart and Napheesa Collier announced the Unrivaled League, a new "3-on-3" basketball league scheduled for Jan 2025 in Miami. Aliyah Boston is set to play for Team Vinyl alongside Arike Ogunbowale and Rhyne Howard, among others.

Boston hails from the U.S. Virgin Islands but moved to their aunt's house in Massachusetts for better basketball opportunities. In an interview with ABC News, she spoke about how her family nurtured her basketball dream.

"Everyone back home, they've been supporting me since we left the island, encouraging my sister and I to follow our dreams. It's just super exciting to see the strong family, the strong support system that I have behind me."

But what makes Aliyah Boston an acclaimed baller?

Aliyah Boston is the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year who plays forward for the Indiana Fever. Last year, she was picked by the Fevers as the first overall pick for the WNBA draft.

In an interview with Good Morning America, she opened up about this achievement.

"I was really nervous just because it was something that I'd been working toward for quite a long time. When I heard my name called, it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulder."

In her 2024 WNBA season, she has played for 30 minutes across 40 games, averaging 14 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.

Boston has her share of accolades in her career. She was ranked the number three recruit in the Class of 2019 at South Carolina. In 2022, she was named NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player alongside the SEC Female Athlete of the Year. That same year, she won the AP Player of the Year alongside the prestigious Naismith Award.

She has been awarded the Lisa Leslie Award as the best center in NCAA women's basketball four years in a row, earned the Gatorade Player of the Year thrice, and played in McDonald's All-American Game dribbled at the Jordon Brand Classic.

Her basketball journey has been nothing but spectacular. Boston has come a long way from playing high school basketball at Worcester to college basketball for the Gamecocks and eventually dribbling for the Indiana Fever.