Only a few weeks into her professional career and Aliyah Boston is already being compared to stars like Brittney Griner, A’ja Wilson and Elena Delle Donne. The South Carolina based baller capped off an outstanding season with her incredible performance. But even then, some are refusing to acknowledge the rising star by resorting to half-witted comparisons.

Before her sudden rise, Aliyah was honored as the undisputed WNBA Rookie of the Year and achieved several milestones. She also made history by starting the WNBA All-Star Game as a rookie. Boston was only the eighth rookie in history to be chosen as a starter for the WNBA All-Star Game and the first in nine years. The Lady Tigers’ attempt to steal her thunder with their star player comparison only backfired.

Odd Pair: The Comparison That Never Was

Boston is already one of the league’s most popular personalities. Aside from her excellent performance, she has always demonstrated a level of moral rectitude and elegance that everyone who has seen her play can attest to. At the same, Angel Reese is a rising celebrity with significant renown as a result of NIL. Her last year in NCAA and the upcoming WNBA career is already creating a wave of excitement.

Both Boston and Reese are great in their own right, but the NIL system has helped Reese more than Boston. In the tweet, Sportico contrasted Boston’s WNBA compensation to LSU star Angel Reese’s NIL value, which is a whopping $1.7 million. But Bakari Sellers, a South Carolina state legislator, decided to throw his weight behind Aliyah Boston.

Bakari Sellers took a hard take on LSU to repost the deleted tweet by Sportico, which was in the comparison of Angel Reese and Aliyah Boston. “The thing is, @LSUwbkbretweeting, this BS doesn’t surprise anyone. @aa_boston has done nothing but respect and grow the game. She is a queen and an all-time great. It’s personal,” he wrote on Twitter.

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Since NIL is the only way for NCAA athletes to legally earn money, Reese’s NIL valuation represents the complete amount of money she can make as a collegiate athlete. Boston’s income from sponsorships is far higher than her pay from the WNBA. But the repost by LSU only stirred a commotion.

Aliyah Boston crafted a shaded NCAA story

A year after A’ja Wilson finished her NCAA career, Boston made her campus debut at the University of South Carolina in 2019. In college, A’ja Wilson followed her around, but it didn’t deter her.

The 6-foot-5 forward scored 15 points in her first two outings as a professional. Early in the season, she averaged 15.8 points and six rebounds per game, and her abilities captured the hearts of many basketball fans.

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Aliyah’s WNBA advent is itself a sign of an immense star power that she’s unleashing to create a different niche for herself and nullify all the contemporary comparisons.