Kiki Iriafen Dominates and Continues To Cement Her Status as a Future Pro

In one of the very best games of the season, and frankly that I’ve ever watched, Kiki Iriafen dominated as Stanford eked out an overtime victory over Iowa State to earn their way to the Sweet 16. It’s not just that Kiki dominated; she’s done that all year. It’s that Stanford NEEDED her to and she provided and then some.

41 points, 16 rebounds, and an incredible defensive performance against one of the most difficult assignments in the game, Audi Crooks coming off a 40 point performance herself.

Kiki’s well apparent development hit immediately in Stanford’s first game of the season, but blew up in the Cardinal’s blowout win over Indiana in game two. Her consistency has impressed, aggression has been constant, and she’s continued to improve over the course of the season.

I’m currently working on getting together the first version of an in-depth Draft primer for 2025, and after tonight, it’s worth stating.

Kiki Iriafen is squarely at No. 1 for me in the 2025 class.

While so much of the draft is about fit… for some team’s I would have Paige Bueckers in that top spot (much is of course also dependent on next season)… Kiki doesn’t just profile as a quality player, but a potential star at the next level. There are multiple players in the coming draft with that type of ceiling, but Kiki planted herself in that top spot.

What makes her special?

To be a star, you have to be able to create efficient offense, but also have ways to impact the game when your scoring doesn’t hit. Iriafen is a remarkably efficient scorer. She dominates the low block and the mid-post with her footwork and aggression.

While Kiki was a starter on last season’s team, the largest jump for her (in my eyes) has been the quickness. She’s always had the power and ability to attack with quickness, but she sees the floor in a different light now. There’s no hesitation in her game. Quickness in processing the floor and capitalizing on advantages you can create is what I’d consider the biggest battle for most players to become the level of star that can credibly carry an offense. Any sort of second-guessing or thought has evaporated, a testament to the work she put in prior to this season.

On top of that, her growth as a jump-shooter has opened up her face-up game in a way that’s been absolutely game changing. Iriafen has shot 47.5% on jump shots inside the arc this season on 162 attempts per InStat, as opposed to 32.7% on 52 attempts the first two seasons of her collegiate career.

She’s so efficient and quick on her shot now that she has to be closed out on. Against a zone, she flashes high and pops when she’s left open. When she draws the sink defender, she attacks off the bounce and is an absolute mismatch for larger frontcourt players, while simultaneously being too strong for most players of the same stature. You can't give her space, because she's such a consistent shooter, but you also can't close and give her the chance to take you off the dribble, a difficult dichotomy to take on as a defense. She is a constant threat.

When she gets to play one on one, she’s adept, but it’s how she plays through help that deserves most notice. Kiki’s ability to play through traffic at her size is extraordinary.

Kiki is exceptional with gathers and collecting herself in space, and this is a prime example. Being able to operate in a phone booth as well as she does is wildly impressive. She has a suddenness about her in her rip throughs and off the dribble moves that most players just can't handle, it's beautiful stuff.

You can see so much of Nneka Ogwumike in how Kiki attacks baseline to work back to the interior, one of my favorite aspects of her game. That growing face-up game and the single leg sleeve have drawn many comparisons to Aces star and multi-time MVP, and rightfully. 

It's easy to project out the potential of Kiki's three-point shot, something she flashed more as the year went on and clearly has the capability of getting to over time. She has a compact a high release, is great at staying square or getting square before she has the ball, and I could see her becoming a very high level pick and pop threat.

On top of all that, as mentioned earlier, what you do on top of your scoring is such a vital part of making your scoring matter. Kiki is an underrated passer, not necessarily someone who will wow with skip passes, but she makes the quick right reads when she draws the defense, and that matters a great deal more than any sort of flashiness. She is going to draw help constantly, and punishing that routinely is what enables you to be a star who impacts winning regardless of the box score.

Kiki is also a fantastic defender, with quite a bit of room for growth as well. She's got great feet at her size and uses her length well to make herself a fairly switchable forward. She uses her strong base and good verticality principles to win in post matchups.

Kiki is tremendous positionally, a much better and more impactful defender than I think her steal and block numbers indicate. She does such a great job protecting the rim without leaving her feet.

There's room for her to keep growing as an off-ball defender. It's not that she's bad, more that I think there's room to keep growing in how she asserts herself in making plays outside the play. That stuff takes time, and I'm excited to see it keep coming from her, because the growth has been staggering.

Kiki Iriafen has the immediate impact and prowess to push Stanford to the final weekend of the Tournament, and she also has the potential to solidify herself as the top pick of next year's draft.