Prior to the start of the 2026 WNBA season, there were few pundits who picked the Golden State Valkyries to win the championship. ESPN’s preseason rankings based on their metrics gave the Indiana Fever, Las Vegas Aces, Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream the best odds to win the title, respectively. During the Valkyries’ championship parade on Wednesday, Kiah Stokes showed up wearing a shirt that had a printout of ESPN’s analytics.
ESPN ultimately responded to Kiah Stokes’ shirt by jokingly creating a new analytics chart showing the Valkyries as having 100 percent odds at winning the WNBA championship. They also clarified that they had given the Valkyries the top odds at winning it all as of Aug. 10.
Jokes aside, Stokes was a huge factor in the Valkyries’ title run. She signed as a free agent in the offseason in what basically was an under-the-radar move, and she ended up being a primary catalyst for winning a championship.
During the regular season Stokes appeared in 43 of 44 games at a little over 22 minutes per game. She averaged 3.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.7 blocked shots with splits of 43.4 percent shooting from the field and 29 percent shooting from the 3-point line.
Article Continues BelowIn the playoffs, she averaged 4.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 2.4 blocked shots while shooting 51.1 percent from the field, 23.5 percent from the 3-point line and 75 percent from the free-throw line.
The former UConn standout was selected to the All-Defensive Second Team for her role on the best defensive team in the WNBA. Stokes signed a two-year guaranteed contract with the Valkyries last offseason, ensuring they have their interior defensive anchor for at least one more season.