Aliyah Boston selected as No. 1 pick by Indiana Fever in the 2023 WNBA Draft

By Thomas Schlachter, CNN

Following her stellar college career, Aliyah Boston was picked first by the Indiana Fever in the 2023 WNBA Draft.

The 21-year-old starred throughout her time playing for the South Carolina Gamecocks and was the unanimous choice to go No. 1 on the big day.

The Indiana Fever did not miss out on their opportunity and snatched up the senior who should help reverse the Fever’s fortunes ahead of the 2023 season.

Boston is a brilliant defender and will be able to provide her new team with much-needed protection on that end of the court. While Boston didn’t show it as fluently during her last year in college, the forward is also a major threat on offense and could cement herself as a brilliant two-way player in the WNBA.

This showed during her latest college campaign, as the six-foot-five-inch forward averaged an impressive 13 points, 9.8 rebounds and two blocks per game.

In 2022, Boston became the first player named both Naismith women’s defensive player of the year — which she retained this season — and Naismith women’s player of the year, the award given to the best women’s basketball player at college.

Boston also led her side to the 2022 NCAA championship during her incredibly successful time with the Gamecocks — which included a 42-game win streak, spanning 389 days, dating back to last season’s national title run.

With the second pick, the Minnesota Lynx selected Diamond Miller before the Dallas Wings rounded out the top five with three consecutive picks.

Despite an Elite Eight exit, Miller starred for Maryland throughout March Madness and demonstrated what she could provide the Lynx.

The senior averaged 19.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and showed her capability on the defensive end with 2.1 steals per game and 1.3 blocks per game — showcasing her impressive ability on both ends on the floor.

With the No. 3 pick, the Wings selected Maddy Siegrist out of Villanova, traded up for Iowa State’s Stephanie Soares at No. 4, before landing Lou Lopez Sénéchal from UConn at No. 5 in a draft night that will hugely change the course of Dallas’ future.

As well as Boston, the Gamecocks had another two players drafted in the first round with Laeticia Amihere and Zia Cooke being picked at No. 8 and No. 10 respectively.

The brilliant night for South Carolina did not end there as Brea Beal and Victaria Saxton were selected consecutively at No. 24 and No. 25.

This is a testament to the brilliant work that head coach Dawn Staley is producing for the program and the success of the Gamecocks throughout the last few seasons.

If you’re wondering where Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark were selected, the pair were unable to partake in the WNBA Draft due to league rules and will only be eligible for the WNBA Draft in 2024.

This means both Reese and Clark will have at least another year of college basketball before they are allowed to make the move to the professional league.

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