HUGE SETBACK: INDIANA FEVER STAR PLAYER Aaliyah boston HAS BEING SUSPENDED FOR 3 MATCHES FOR.....

INDIANAPOLIS — The first thing Indiana Fever rookie Aliyah Boston did after finding out she was a WNBA All-Star starter is text her family group chat — even though WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told her to keep the news confidential.

“Miss Cathy said not to tell anyone, but I texted my whole family group chat — don’t tell her,” Boston said from Las Vegas on Monday night. “I told them they have to keep it a secret, it’s just my mom, my dad, and my aunt. I’m like, ‘Guys, shhh, but listen, come to Vegas.’”

Then, she texted Fever coach Christie Sides, who had to mask her excitement on the team bus while they were traveling.

“We were all separated, so Aliyah got the call, and then she told me,” Sides said. “We didn’t’ know if we could tell anybody, so we were all just sitting on the bus and she and I were texting. All she wants to talk about is her team, you know, and that’s the difference in her. That’s what makes her so special.

Boston, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 WNBA draft, was officially named an All-Star starter Sunday afternoon. She is the eighth rookie overall to grab a starting spot, and the first since 2014. For the Fever, Boston is the first rookie all-star since Tamika Catchings in 2002.