Aliyah Boston Opens Up About First Surgery of Her Career After Playing Through Knee Injury

Aliyah Boston had never had surgery before Oct. 14. The repair of the lateral meniscus in her right knee kept her off Post Moves for a stretch, and she was back in her chair for Episode 54 alongside three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker.

Boston told Parker early in the episode that she was “much better.”

“We had a nice successful surgery on that meniscus repair,” Boston said. “So quite nice. It took me a while. I couldn’t just come back on here. I had to recover. Let me tell you, this is my first surgery ever.”

“I was like, couldn’t get up, couldn’t use the bathroom,” Boston continued. “It was a lot. So we made it.”

The sedative hit before she ever got into the operating room.

“I was like outside the room and she was like, we just gave you a little sleepy meds,” Boston explained. “But she was like, but you’re not going to go to bed yet. Like, this isn’t that. I was gone. That’s all I remember. And I woke up. I was good to go.”

Dr. Corey Kendall did the arthroscopy at OrthoIndy on a Wednesday. Indiana announced it Thursday, said more updates would follow, and still has not put a date on her return.

The procedure came 13 days after the Fever’s season ended.

“I just woke up and I was like, oh, like, how are you?” Boston said. “Like, I took a video of myself rolling out in the wheelchair. Like everything was good. Everything was kicked in. But the nurse did tell me she was like, when you woke up the first time, you said you had a lot of pain.”

“I said, there was a first time?” Boston continued. “She said, yes. I said, so this is my second time. She said, absolutely. But I was good, though.”

Her parents stayed with her for a few weeks. An aunt had taken over by the time the episode was recorded.

“No, I’m actually, I’ll get up and do it myself,” Boston said. “So I got yelled at because they were like, you can’t. I was like, if I could just get out the bed, like I’ll be able to find my way.”

Feb. 27 was her last game of the Unrivaled season. Boston was hurt with Phantom in the Miami-based 3-on-3 league in late February, and she stayed with the team through the semifinals and the championship game without playing in either.

A month later, she pulled out of Team USA’s World Cup qualifying event in Puerto Rico.

Indiana called it a right lower leg injury all season. Boston wore a sleeve on that leg and missed four of the 44 regular-season games.

Her 16.1 points a game were a career best. So were her 1.5 steals, and she added 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists a night.

June 11 against Chicago was the high point: 34 points and 12 rebounds in a 114-106 overtime win. Caitlin Clark had 32 points and 10 assists, and the two became the first teammates in league history with 30-point double-doubles in the same game.

Indiana’s season ended Oct. 1 in Las Vegas, in Game 3 of a first-round series Clark has since called “a little bit silly” for being only three games long.

“I’m so glad that you’re healing,” Parker said. “And obviously there have been some updates in terms of you having to sit out this Unrivaled season to get healthy, to get back. But health is wealth, as we all know.”

“And you even being able to, and I can say this from a big sister, and you do not have to comment, but you even being able to play this year says a lot about your desire to play basketball and be there for your team,” Parker continued.

Against the Aces, Boston put up 19.7 points a game. She also averaged 7.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the series.

“It’s hard when you’re thinking about an injury or thinking about something that is difficult or hurt while you’re still trying to play at your highest level,” Boston said. “So when you are 100% healthy and all you have to do is worry about the scout and playing basketball. So much better, so much better.”

In September, Boston went to Germany and won gold with the United States at the FIBA Women’s World Cup, playing in all six games.

Unrivaled had announced her return on a multiyear deal in August. On Oct. 28, the league ruled her out of its third season, which tips off in January, and named Toronto Tempo forward Isabelle Harrison to take her spot in the player pool.

Boston, the 2023 No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year, has made four All-Star teams. Her contract with Indiana runs through 2029, and free agency opens in early February.

Unrivaled expects her back for its fourth season.