SAN FRANCISCO — “KI-AH, KI-AH, KI-AH.”
There is a fan sign behind the one of the nets at Chase Center that says “MV-KIAH” that popped up around the start of the playoffs. On Monday night, it seemed like all of Ballhalla agreed with that.
While Kiah Stokes was being interviewed on the court following the Valkyries’ 64-55 win over Atlanta in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the WNBA Finals, the crowd made it impossible to hear her. They were too busy celebrating her historic effort.
“I was just like, man, y’all crazy,” Stokes said, admitting the chant did make her smile. “Like I appreciate the support but at the end of the day, I just feel like our whole team, like everyone on our team so important. I just feel like we need everyone.”
On Monday, Stokes, who has already won three WNBA titles, finished with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting in 35 minutes for the most she has ever played in a Valkyries uniform. She tied with point guard Veronica Burton for the leading scorer in the game, something she has not done all season.
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Stokes hadn’t made three 3-pointers in a game since 2024, when she went 3-for-4 in a regular season loss for the Aces against Phoenix. She had been 0-for-4 in this series from range after shooting 29% from there in the regular season.
“What she does on a daily basis, and she asks for nothing in return,” Burton said. “She’s one of the most humble people I’ve ever met, honestly, and we’re not here without Kiah.
“It’s more than just defense. I know everyone wants to talk about defense with Kiah, but it’s offense too, and she contributes on both sides of the ball.”
Stokes noted that her offensive outburst came after veteran guard Tiffany Hayes “cussed (her) out” when she passed up a shot earlier in the game.
“I didn’t want to make her mad again,” she grinned.
But Stokes hasn’t reached for the attention. In fact, she’s often shrunk away from it, secure in herself enough to know she brought a lot to a WNBA team without needing the accolades.
“She’s too humble, y’all,” Burton said with a laugh when Stokes shrugged off another question about her performance on Monday.
Her defense might be why the Valkyries win this series. She’s already set a WNBA Finals record with 17 blocked shots in this series and has shut down Angel Reese in the paint over the past two games, blocking eight of her shots alone.
Before shutting down Reese in this series, Stokes had the assignments on the league’s Most Improved Player, Jessica Shepard of Dallas, and the MVP A’ja Wilson in Las Vegas. She mostly kept them quiet, too.
Stokes’ six straight postseason contests of three-plus blocks tied a WNBA record with Lisa Leslie in 2003. Behind that, Golden State has set a league-record 37 blocks in a single series.
“All her hard work is paying off,” Nakase said. “Now you guys get to see Kiah Stokes at her best, in which she’s bringing her best version of herself to 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 (is big) with Kiah.”
Stokes signed with the Valkyries as a free agent in the last offseason, following her former assistant coach in Nakase. Early on, she said she wanted to contribute more offensively.
That was scoffed at by some observers early. Slowly, though, she settled in as one of the league’s best defensive players, but also as someone who can be enough of a threat shooting the ball that teams have to consider guarding her at the perimeter.
“Nothing rattles her,” Nakase said. “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.”
But the player nobody thought could be a part of an offense might be the MVP of these Finals. Yes, for what she does best as a defender, but also for taking the shots the Valkyries believed in her to make.
“I always know what I brought to a team, like I always understood my value but just to hear like in an arena full of 18,000 fans, it just makes me feel appreciated and loved,” Stokes said. “There’s not another way to say that.”
