LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 24: Kiah Stokes #41 of the Golden State Valkyries reaches for the ball against Dearica Hamby #5 of the Los Angeles Sparks during the first quarter at Crypto.com Arena on September 24, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
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The Golden State Valkyries have few advantages over the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. One, which was obvious in their Game 1 win on Sunday, is their bench depth. The other is their rebounding.
It wasn’t supposed to be that much of an advantage, though.
Even without NaLyssa Smith, the Aces have a size advantage on the Valkyries, led by 6-foot-4 star post A’ja Wilson.
Golden State is a far more aggressive team in the paint on both ends, though. Kiah Stokes picked up 14 rebounds on Sunday, her most since 2025, as a part of an effort where the Valkyries outrebounded the Aces 58-34 with 17 rebounds.
That gave the Valkyries an astounding 20 second-chance points; the Aces just had 2.
“All we talked about for the last 48 hours was rebounding and blocking them out, and we did not do it. Period,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. She also called her team’s performance “one of our more atrocious games of the season," and said Las Vegas "played like ass."
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