SAN FRANCISCO — Playing next to reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year A’ja Wilson has its perks. Her teammates get to witness greatness every night, but may not get the spotlight she does. However, for former Las Vegas Aces and current Golden State Valkyries forward Kiah Stokes, that’s how she liked it. She has never been one who wants all the fanfare; but when free agency came around last year, she wanted more of a role than she’d had in years past.
Through her first 10 games with the Valkyries, Stokes has found exactly what she was looking for and is making an impact in a variety of ways.
“I don’t really like to be the center of attention,” Stokes told The IX Basketball in an interview. “I like to just kind of be in the back. I’m a laid-back person, and I think that kind of feeds into it, but I also know if you’re going to be an A’ja Wilson-type player, you get all the praise, but you get a lot of negative publicity. But, for me … I like to be, you know, very, even and steady.”
Over the first 10 years of her career, Stokes had played for just two teams. During that time, she proved herself to be one of the best rim protectors and rebounders in the WNBA. She also won three WNBA championships during that time. However, Stokes has never been the biggest offensive threat. Over her career, Stokes has never averaged more than 6.9 points per game. She played next to the likes of Wilson and Tina Charles during those 10 years.
So, when this past offseason came around, Stokes wanted to go somewhere that would allow her to be more involved on the offensive end. Her minutes in Las Vegas had gone down over the last three seasons, and she only averaged 1.3 field goal attempts per game last year. So, when she and Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase talked in the offseason about her signing in Golden State, they discussed her having a bigger role in the offense. Having played for Nakase in Las Vegas, Stokes felt comfortable making the move to Bay Area.
“I think for me personally, I just want to be involved in more actions and just be given the opportunity,” Stokes said. “I feel like with Coach Natalie’s philosophies and what she wants, she wants the fives to kind of just the main hub — where I do an action and then they’re kind of supposed to read off of me. So, it was just intriguing to me, but I also know that Natalie trusts me completely, and I have a really big confidence and faith in her … I’ve been playing kind of the same way for the past few years, so it is a little bit out of my comfort zone, but I’m looking forward to just growing every game and getting better.”
So far this season, Stokes has seen her minutes and field goal attempts increase drastically compared to last year. The expectation coming into the season was that she and Iliana Rupert, another former Las Vegas Ace, would split time at the center position throughout the season. However, when it was announced that Rupert would be out for the season due to pregnancy, Stokes became the center.
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Through the first 10 games of this season, Stokes has already had as many games with at least 6 points as she did all of last year. She also had multiple games where she’s knocked down at least two 3-pointers, something she didn’t do a single time last year. She has been more aggressive, looking to score at the rim and in taking outside shots. She is also a very willing screener with Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton saying Stokes sets monster screens, something Golden State uses a lot in their offense. The added aggressiveness in her offensive game has greatly helped the Valkyries and brought a smile to her former coach’s face.
“Kiah’s awesome to coach,” Stokes former coach, Becky Hammon, said pregame before the Aces faced the Valkyries. “Not only is she a great person but she’s a great pro. She’s committed to do whatever you ask her to do, 100% all the time, and so she’s just a real joy to have on any team. I think she’s been great, her defensive versatility. I’m happy to see her shooting the ball more and being more aggressive on that end. I think it’s been good for her … sometimes you need a change of scenery, but seeing her go with it was a tough one for us.”
While Stokes has found a larger role on offense, where she has always made her money is with her defense. So far this year, she is third in the league in blocks per game, averaging two denials. She’s had at least one block in seven games and at least three blocks in five different games. The only year she averaged at least two blocks a game was her rookie campaign, when she finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year.
At her current rate, Stokes is on pace to set a career high in blocked shots. During the first 10 years of her career, she’d had 42 games with at least three blocks, but already has five such games through her first 10 in Golden State. Burton has gushed about Stokes and her ability to protect the rim. She loves having Stokes as her back-line defender because it allows the Valkyries guards to put more pressure on the ball, knowing Stokes is behind them, protecting the rim. For Stokes, her knack for swatting shots this year stems from the coaching staff’s confidence in her and their willingness to put her in those positions.
“I think it’s just a confidence that the coaching staff has in me,” Stokes said. “I mean, they added me for a reason. They have a lot of great defensive players, so it’s kind of an honor for them to actually want me. I think it just shows some of the skills that might get overlooked. I don’t fill up the stat sheets. Even when I’m not getting blocks, at least trying to be in the right position, get deflections, and just be like a long body. But they notice the little things, and I think that is like a confidence boost for me personally.”
Stokes has been great at protecting the rim, but she has also had to defend some of the league’s best post players through the Valkyries first 10 games. She has already faced the likes of Wilson, Aliyah Boston, Kamilla Cardoso and Jonquel Jones, to name a few. She has seen the gamut of styles in the post so far this year, and she has done a good job against her opponents. She held Boston to just 13 points in the Valkyries’ home win over the Fever and Cardoso to only 8 points.
For Stokes, her goal every game is to make her opponent do something they don’t want to do offensively. She wants to take away their main move and force them into a secondary countermove. If they are great around the rim, she wants to force them into jump shots. If they want to go right, force them left. Stokes knows she won’t be able to defend everything, but her mindset is to make her opponents’ lives as difficult as possible. So far, her defensive impact has been great; she has the lowest defensive rating, an opponent’s points scored per 100 possessions, of any player on the Valkyries. For her teammates, she has brought a great presence to their defense, and her experience is unmatched.
“Kiah is a vet. Kiah is the vet. She knows how to win.” Valkyries wing Gabby Williams said of her teammate after a game earlier this year. “She knows how to guard these bigger bigs in this league; she’s been doing it for however many years. I think it’s great to see her kind of get a bit more confidence on the offensive end and search for her finishes inside, and I just see her continuing to teach us and to grow as well.”
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Despite all the success and the long-tenured career Stokes has had, she has never been one for the spotlight. She can be shy and prefers to talk about her teammates’ success rather than her own. She doesn’t want to be the center of attention and has always been laid-back. On the basketball court, Stokes does all the little things that are important to winning in a game, but don’t necessarily show up in statistical ways.
Stokes came to Golden State for a bigger offensive role and because of her strong relationship with Nakase. Through 10 games, she is having a major impact without putting up big statistical numbers.
Golden State has shown itself to be a high-level team so far this season, but if you asked Stokes about it, she would prefer to credit all the success to her teammates. However, the Valkyries wouldn’t be in a position to compete with the best in the WNBA during their second season if it weren’t for all the little things Stokes brings to the team.
“Having a humble star is really priceless and rare,” Nakase told the media of Stokes prior to the Valkyries’ win over Portland on Tuesday. “I’d say in this game nowadays, especially with all the branding and all the things that you can do with the platform that the athletes have, but she doesn’t want any of that. She gets really shy, I think, as you guys have probably asked her questions. She gets really nervous talking about herself, and that comes from her heart. You know, she wants to work really hard. She wants to do whatever it takes … She’s willing also to do anything — rebounding, boxing out, setting screens, like she wants to do all that — because she knows those little things are really going to be important in winning during the season.”
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