Kiah Stokes has taken on some of the greatest challenges in the postseason for the Golden State Valkyries.
It was the Most Improved Player of the Year, Jess Shepard, who struggled against Stokes in round one.
It was the much-celebrated five-time MVP A’ja Wilson — also Stokes’ former teammate — who struggled to hit her season averages in the semifinals.
These performances flew under the radar as other teammates shone.
Now, as the WNBA Finals reach an unprecedented six, potentially seven games, it’s the young and undeniable Angel Reese — Defensive Player of the Year — who has found herself up against Stokes.
Now, people are taking serious notice.
Kiah Stokes has never won the awards given this year to those three opponents. She has three championships with the Las Vegas Aces, where she played a limited role behind Wilson.
It could very well be that practicing with the best has sharpened her for this moment, when she is a starter for a second-year franchise that is on the verge of professional sports history.
Even more impressive, she is a contender for Finals MVP should the Valkyries pull it off. Stokes would be a highly atypical Finals MVP choice — these players have historically made their great impact through high-scoring offense, the unstoppable forces driving their team to the ultimate prize.
Kiah Stokes scoring 13 points in Game 5 was an anomaly. In most of the 2026 postseason games, she has scored between zero and five. She is not the unstoppable force for an offensive attack.
She is the immovable object that anchors a defensive scheme that will underscore the Valkyries’ achievements for years to come.
Should she win 2026 Finals MVP, it will be the long-awaited recognition for a player who does all the small and difficult things throughout a game. Whose record-breaking comes from blocks (17 and counting for the Finals alone), not points.
After all, for a Finals series that may turn out to average the fewest points per game in WNBA Finals history in large part due to being a battle of two defensive juggernauts, it would only make sense to crown the series MVP according to which players brought the most impactful defense in support of their team.
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