SAN FRANCISCO – Only Kiah Stokes could be so nonchalant about what she’s doing on the WNBA’s highest and brightest stage. Doesn’t matter that she’s collected 3+ blocks in six straight games, tying the legendary Lisa Leslie for the longest streak in a single postseason in WNBA playoff history. Doesn’t matter that she attracts every rebound that falls into her vicinity, as if she possessed the basketball version of Magneto’s magnetism. And it doesn’t matter that she is casually catapulting 3-pointers through the bottom of the net as a center who’s only attempted 298 over her 11-year career.
Only Kiah Stokes could guide the Golden State Valkyries to a pivotal Game 5 64-55 victory over the Atlanta Dream and calmly shrug her shoulders when asked how and what she did to be simultaneously the Valkyries’ unbreakable defensive fortress in the paint and most efficient 3-point shooter from beyond the arc.
“I mean, I was just shooting it. To be honest, Tip (Hayes) cussed me out when I passed one up, so I didn’t want to make her mad again,” Stokes said after a performance in which collecting 13 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks on 3-of-4 from deep. A performance that garnered the thunderous Ballhalla crowd to rain down a combination of “M-V-P!” chants, “KI-AH!” chants, and “M-V-KIAH!” chants. And even still, Stokes downplayed the significance of nearly 18,000 people screaming her name at the top of their lungs in unison.
“I mean, I appreciate the support,” Stokes said with the same level of casualness, a grin creeping up her face as Veronica Burton, seated next to her, giggled. “I feel like our whole team- everyone on our team is so important; I just feel like we need everyone. It’s cool; it made me smile and stuff. But I feel like if you take any person off our team, we’re not in this position.”
Kiah Stokes’ composure and leadership
Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
Stokes’ humble deflection of her impact speaks to the strength-in-numbers culture the Valkyries have cultivated. But make no mistake, if you took Stokes off of Golden State, it’s hard to imagine them being where they are right now– one game away from championship glory. Because all season long, all postseason long, Stokes has been their unassailable defensive anchor.
“I don’t call her the Warden of Valkatraz for nothing,” Kaila Charles told ClutchPoints after the game, invoking the nickname for the lockdown Golden State defense that combines Valkyries with Alcatraz.
“She literally is our rim protector, our paint protector. She just does so much for us that sometimes may go under the radar. She’s been doing this all year, so I’m glad that people are now seeing it and just seeing that she’s been doing this for years, honestly. But it’s just amazing because if we have a mishap, we know that she’s going to be there, and I think the (opposing) players do know that too sometimes because they’re deterred from going (in) and make some second guesses. That really helps us a lot.”
In these playoffs, Stokes has a 95.1 defensive rating, averaging 2.6 blocks for a total of 26 through eleven playoff games, the most in a single postseason by any player in WNBA history. She’s been the defacto Angel Reese stopper, having held her to 5-of-21 (23.8%) entering Game 5 and helping keep her in check for just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting on the night. And in this series, Atlanta has shot 9-of-48 (19.0%) when defended by Stokes, putting the Dream in prison whenever they try her.
But in Game 5, her offense came alive. With the game a slog, a few possessions after swatting Naz Hillmon’s layup into the stands, Stokes buried a corner three-pointer at the end of the shot clock to put the Valkyries up 41-36 and set off their third-quarter avalanche. Fourth quarter rolls around, and Stokes nailed another 3-pointer, this time from the corner, to give the Valkyries a 10-point lead the Dream would never truly chip into.
Kiah Stokes’ composure and leadership
David Gonzales-Imagn Images
But where Stokes has been most valuable has been with her leadership and presence, according to Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, who coached her as an assistant on the Las Vegas Aces, where the two of them were winning championships with Becky Hammon and A’ja Wilson.
“All her hard work is paying off. Now you guys get to see Kiah Stokes at her best, in which she’s bringing her best version of herself,” Nakase said. “In the Finals, she’s been here many times, and so it’s like nothing new. She’s used to long playoff runs, so that’s why consistency with Kiah. That’s kind of been her name. Nothing rattles her.
“And I think when you have a player like a star like Kiah who doesn’t feed into wanting attention, then it just keeps her laser-focused because every day is the same. Every day, her habits are the same. She takes over. She has a smile on her face. She studies the game plan. She’s always there, even with the highs and lows of the game. She just stays really composed. So just leaning on Kia’s experience, and now just shooting that three-ball like it’s a layup. It was beautiful.”
That’s just how Stokes rolls, and for Nakase, who described herself as an “obsession extremist” whose excitement for basketball sometimes has her moving too quickly when it comes to her coaching, she admitted that Stokes is whose advice she leaned on to change her motivational tactics this series.
“Hold on, long series coach,” Nakase said, repeating what Stokes told her when the Valkyries found themselves down 2-1 in those long days after Game 3. “It’s gonna be a battle. It’s going to be a couple of punches, so why don’t you just take a beat? Let’s clear. Make sure we understand what your game plan is, and make sure we’re digesting it because it seems like it was to me.”
That composure, that never getting too high or too low, that Nakase and all her teammates admire, emanates from her. It works in the same way Tiffany Hayes’ electric energy can electrify a game. It works in the same way that Gabby Williams punching the air can ignite the Ballhalla crowd. Stokes’ steady, unshakable calmness just leads to winning. It just does.
Kiah Stokes has been talking about letting her hoops do the talking. Here’s what she said they said tonight:
And it might be okay for her to revel in it a little. Just a little before the Valkyries turn the page to Game 6, a close-out game for all the marbles. But then again, that wouldn’t be Stokes, who couldn’t help but crack a joke when a softball question was lobbed to let her brag about herself.
“They say your game does the talking; what do you think it said tonight?” a reporter asked.
“Umm… I don’t know. Shoot when you’re open?” Stokes said, sending the room up in laughter.
“She’s too humble, y’all,” Burton said, as if to explain to everyone that her answer is precisely why Stokes is who she is.
