It’s been a challenging season for the Las Vegas Aces. With a 6-7 record that has them sitting outside the playoff picture, the Aces are far from their recent championship form. The Aces have been mediocre on both ends of the floor, ranking ninth in offensive and defensive rating.
Outside of A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas hasn’t seen much offensive production. Even Jewell Loyd has struggled. The guard rotation isn’t one of the Aces’ biggest problems, though. The team’s frontcourt depth is. With Cheyenne Parker-Tyus and Megan Gustafson out, the Aces have little frontcourt strength behind A’ja Wilson.
Kiah Stokes, who plays 21.8 minutes per game, has to give the Aces more if they want to turn the season around.
Kiah Stokes needs to be more involved offensively
Kiah Stokes starts next to A’ja Wilson and plays the fifth-most minutes for the Aces. She is a strong rebounder, averaging 6.5 boards per game, and a defensive anchor. That makes her valuable to the Aces. However, Stokes would be even more valuable if she also contributed more offensively.
Stokes is not a significant part of the Aces’ offense. She only averages 2.4 points per game. That is by far the lowest number among Aces players seeing significant minutes. Stokes also only takes an average of 2.8 shots per game. That is not enough to help the Aces win, no matter how good her defense is.
Her lack of offensive involvement doesn’t just mean that the Aces aren’t getting much scoring in the frontcourt outside of Wilson. It also allows teams to hide guards, who are weak defenders, on Stokes despite the height difference. She also doesn’t space the floor around Wilson.
Stokes has never been a big-time scorer, but still carved out a role in the WNBA. She is currently in her tenth season. On previous Aces rosters, her offensive shortcomings didn’t stand out as much. In 2024, Alysha Clark and Megan Gustafson bolstered the Aces’ frontcourt production. In 2023, the Aces also had Candace Parker, and in 2022, Dearia Hamby was on the team. With those players on the roster, Stokes was able to focus on her defense and rebounding.
This season, the Aces’ roster looks much different. A’ja Wilson is still one of the top players in the league, but the other frontcourt players on the roster are not producing much. Elizabeth Kitley hasn’t been playing much, and Tiffany Mitchell, who has had to slide into the four spot at times, is also only averaging 3.7 points and 2.5 field goal attempts. Gustafson and Parker-Tyus, who are capable of producing more, haven’t played yet this season.
For most of her career, Stokes’s lack of offensive involvement has been intentional, but, considering the Aces’ current roster construction, that needs to change.
After the Aces’ win over the Indiana Fever, Chelsea Gray said, “We actually want her [Kiah Stokes] to shoot more layups than two.”
Stokes only took two shots and didn't make either in that game despite being guarded by Caitlin Clark for most of the time. If the Aces cannot improve their frontcourt production internally, they may have to make a move before the trade deadline on August 7 to boost the team’s offense without pushing Stokes too far out of her comfort zone.