South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley has thrown her full support behind Aliyah Boston, calling her the ideal player to step up for the Indiana Fever in Caitlin Clark’s absence. Clark has been sidelined with a groin injury since last month, leaving the Fever to battle through tough stretches without their star rookie.
On the “Post Moves” podcast alongside Boston and WNBA legend Candace Parker, Staley praised Boston’s continued growth, insisting she deserves far more recognition at the professional level.
Staley went even further, arguing Boston should be in the MVP discussion despite Indiana’s struggles.
“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,” she added.
“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,” Staley said in a clip shared on X (formerly Twitter). “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?”
Indiana’s challenges
While Staley praised Boston, she also acknowledged that the Fever’s struggles aren’t solely about individual performance. The team has been hit hard by injuries, limiting their ability to stay consistent despite having talent across the roster.
Staley reveals NBA interview
It’s also been an eventful offseason for Staley herself. After leading South Carolina to the national championship game before falling to UConn, the Hall of Fame coach revealed that she interviewed with the New York Knicks for a head coaching role this summer.
Although no woman has yet been named an NBA head coach, Staley admitted she may have hurt her chances during the interview by posing a challenging but honest question.
“How, if you hired me as the first female (head) coach in the NBA, would it impact your daily job? Because it would,” Staley told 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.”
She added, “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.”
Ultimately, the Knicks hired Mike Brown to replace Tom Thibodeau, who had guided the team to the Eastern Conference Finals last season
