Kiah Stokes is the true embodiment of knowing your role. The Golden State Valkyries are arguably the deepest team in the WNBA, and each player has strengths that contribute to the team's success—Gabby Williams is a killer perimeter defender who shoots the 3 at a high clip. Veronica Burton is one of the best passers in the league and is the heart behind many a comeback. Janelle Salaün can shoot the lights out of the ball with hands in her face, Tiffany Hayes is the bench energizer that contorts herself to finish over anybody, and so on.
For Stokes, especially in Round 2 of the playoffs against the Las Vegas Aces, that role was simple: rebound the ball and don't let A'ja Wilson singlehandly kill the Valkyries. And despite the doubts and the pressure of facing the best in the world, the veteran center did exactly that, clinching Golden State's first ever Finals appearance after sweeping the reigning champions.
Kiah Stokes was the Valkyries’ unsung hero against the Aces
In Games 1 and 2, Stokes scored a combined 0 points, and yet, she was one of the top stories coming out of Chase Center. In the first game of the series, the Valkyries pulled off a commanding 71-60 win fueled by dominating the boards 52-25 (and grabbing 17 OREB to Las Vegas' two). Wilson, a career 9.3 RPG player, was only able to grab four, while Stokes had 14, and half of them were off of her own team's misses.
When asked about the 'secret' to shutting a player like Wilson down, Golden State's Williams simply gestured towards Stokes and said, "This is the secret."
Game 2 was a bit more even, as Stokes and Wilson each grabbed seven rebounds a piece. The Valkyries still out-rebounded the Aces 30-25, though, and grabbed four more on the offensive end, allowing them to win 83-81 despite blowing a 17-point lead in the third quarter.
To recap: so far, Stokes hadn't scored at all in the series against the Aces, and yet her contributions were integral in the 2-0 lead the Valkyries held. In our current state of basketball where offense is lauded as king, it's a bit of a shocking pill to swallow. Still, if you weren't impressed at that point, Stokes delivered what can only be described as a perfect game to get Golden State out of a hole and to the Finals.
The three-time champion recorded a double-double against her former team on Friday, exploding for 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists (+18). Stokes went 5-5 from the field and also blocked the Aces three times, including a late-game swat against A'ja Wilson in regulation during the Valkyries' 17-0 run.
"I could get, like, emotional talking about [Stokes' impact], honestly. She's just someone that is...so appreciated by us," said Williams after the hard-fought game. "She just knows how to win. There's a reason she's a three-time champion, and I've said it a million times...I signed [to the Valkyries] first, and I saw we signed her and I was like, 'Phew!'"
Throughout the season, Stokes has been vocal about the leadership role she embodies on the Valkyries as a former champion and 12th-year veteran of the game. Her winning culture has rubbed off on her teammates, for sure.
"That is a team, and I think they really play great team ball, you know?" said Aces' coach Becky Hammon after Friday's contest. "On any given night, any of them can have 15, 20 on you because they share the ball and...it seems like nobody cares who gets the credit. And that's a really special things to have on a team, and I think Golden State has that."
As Hammon implied, playing a role in basketball is often a thankless job, but Stokes stayed the course and now gets to bask in the glory of leading the Valkyries to its first-ever Finals berth.
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