This Aliyah Boston stat received criticism from the league's MVP

The Indiana Fever tied the series in a must situation against the Las Vegas Aces after an impressive 90-83 win at home Sunday. This series has had everything from physical play to even some trash talking. The series will now shift back to the West Coast for a Game 5 winner-take-all match up Tuesday night. The Fever knew what they had to do to have a solid chance to compete with the Aces: disrupt and annoy A'ja Wilson.

It's nearly impossible to completely shut down league MVP A'ja Wilson, but Indiana's middle star Aliyah Boston has come closer than most. Perhaps this post battle has been one of the best the WNBA has seen in a long time. Both products of a very successful South Carolina basketball program, both Wilson and Boston have made this series very exciting for fans. They've not only fought it out on the floor, but have exchanged a few words with one another off the court adding a little extra spark to the Semi Final series.

"Special whistles" have become the topic of a historic postseason battle

Aliyah Boston had a statement game Sunday afternoon finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds doubling her point total from a rather quiet performance in Friday's Game 3 loss. Earlier in the series, Boston emphasized that the way to slow down Wilson is to be "annoying" and force her into uncomfortable shots. Despite Wilson finishing with 31 points on Sunday, it was evident that Boston was getting under her skin and it sort of showed through in the post game press conference after the Aces loss.

"Aliyah did say I have special whistle, and she shot 13 {free throws} today," Wilson said.

When analyzing the stat sheet there was a large difference in free throw attempts between both players. Boston took 13 free throws and Wilson went to the free throw line just 6 times. Perhaps this stat is what led to her blunt response when asked to follow up on her comments stating that Boston claimed she has a "special whistle". "Yeah, she said it last game, I had a special whistle. Which is cool. So you just gotta play better defense, make her looks a little difficult, and kind of go from there."

It isn't known for sure whether or not Boston did make this comment, but it certainly drew the attention of A'ja Wilson. Both players have been nothing short of physical in the paint taking turns dominating one another on what seems like every single possession. The "special whistle" claim in the WNBA is interesting and may make fans more curious about how the game is called on both sides.

When comparing numbers provided by WNBA Stats, A'ja Wilson has led the WNBA since 2023 in free throw attempts - 2025 (290), 2024 (275) and 2023 (287). However, Boston's free throw attempts in her first three seasons dating back to her rookie season aren't even close to being similar - 2025 (147), 2024 (110) and 2023 (145). Given Aliyah Boston's stats, one would be hard pressed to insinuate that she gets the "special whistle". Make no mistake about it, A'ja Wilson is MVP for a reason and has changed the trajectory of the WNBA forever, but there is no reason to believe that Aliyah Boston always gets calls to go her way - and the numbers reflect it.

We're witnessing one of the best physical battles between two of the top post players in the WNBA and Game 5 surely won't disappoint. The Aces hope to return to the Finals while the Fever hope to reach the championship round for the first time since 2015.