{
  "id": 18429611,
  "title": "Valkyries star Kiah Stokes comes clean about taking a shot at ESPN during parade",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/valkyries-star-kiah-stokes-comes-clean-about-taking-a-shot-at-espn",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-06T03:05:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/valkyries-star-kiah-stokes-comes-030511345.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Golden State Valkyries center Kiah Stokes made headlines during the team's championship parade on Wednesday, as she wore a T-shirt displaying a screenshot of ESPN's analytics, which had previously downplayed the team's championship prospects. Stokes discussed the shirt's origins with \"In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams\" on November 6, 2026. She recalled the moment before the All-Star break when ESPN released a report, placing Golden State second in the standings. Stokes felt frustrated, knowing the team had a strong chance at winning the championship, and decided to take a screenshot of the ESPN chart as proof. The moment was captured and later incorporated into the championship parade T-shirt. Stokes added a touch of pettiness by showing her displeasure with ESPN's analytics, comparing it to A'ja Wilson's famous parade shirt from 2023, where the Las Vegas Aces star ridiculed MVP voters. The move was met with minimal backlash from ESPN, which responded with a new chart showing the Valkyries with 100% odds of winning the title. Stokes' defensive skills, including setting a record for the most blocks in a single Finals series and tying Lisa Leslie for the longest streak of games with three or more blocks in a postseason, played a crucial role in Golden State's first-ever WNBA championship in franchise history.",
  "summary": "Kiah Stokes made sure the Golden State Valkyries’ championship parade came with a little extra message for ESPN , and the veteran center is now opening up about what was behind it. Stokes turned heads at Wednesday’s parade by wearing a T-shirt featuring a printout of ESPN’s analytics, which had not exactly been kind to Golden State’s title chances […] The post Valkyries star Kiah Stokes comes…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}