By Christan Brawell, edited by Charles Hamaker

Las Vegas, NV - In her introductory press conference Saturday afternoon, Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd couldn’t help but flash her patented smile as she embraced a new beginning in Sin City.

Now former Seattle Storm shooting guard Jewell Loyd shown during the team 2022 WNBA playoffs semifinal round against the Las Vegas Aces at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Liz Wolter for Circling Seattle Sports)

The first 10 seasons of Loyd’s career rivals most active WNBA players. She has two championships, six All-Star appearances, three All-WNBA selections, a Rookie of the Year award, an All-Star game MVP award, and a scoring title. Most would be satisfied with a jacket lauding such achievements, but that’s not Loyd, nor has it ever been. Scoring the most points or being superstar were never superficial fillers she sought after. Continued success while enjoying the process was.

In the last five years alone, the Aces have appeared in the Finals three times, winning two straight WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. In an attempt to be the first team since the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2000s to achieve the rare three-peat effort. Several obstacles stood in Las Vegas’ way in 2024, but with four All-WNBA level talents in the starting lineup, Loyd is looking to help elevate the Aces and vice versa.

“My whole nature as a human being has always been about the collective. I’ve always been about that. I think everyone has a voice. It needs to be heard. And when you’re trying to build something, you never do it by yourself. It’s never been my mindset. I’ve never gotten here and wouldn’t be here without the help of everyone else. And so knowing that I’m going to have great people that understand that, but can also elevate myself. I can elevate them, and we can just be collectively going to a place of greatness, and that’s what it’s all about.”

When Loyd joined forces with former Storm teammates Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike, she carried the same belief in how their chemistry would develop. The only issue was the fit between three players who never shared the court before. In their only season together, there was never a point where all three players equally impacted games consistently. The Storm played hot potato with the ball between its three stars, and it worked in the first half of the season with a 17-8 record. All good times must end and that was the boat Seattle’s productivity resided in post-Olympic play at 8-7 before a first-round sweep by Las Vegas.

With a fresh start and an open road ahead of her with the Aces, Loyd is taking it in stride and is adamant about taking advantage of it.

“This whole process for me has been leaning on the people that care for me. Family, friends, just locking into what’s next. I know that I’ve been through a lot of adversity in my life. I think, as a human, you’re not just gonung to go through one thing and that’s it. You got to go up and down, but its about what you stand on. I stand on my faith. I stand with people who’ve been with me. And that’s what I’ve been trying to get to. At the end of the day, I always want to get back to me. I want to have this joy about myself. I want to have this joy about the way I play and be around people who can elevate that. It’s easy to harp on the bad, but you want to have more good days than bad days.”

• Check out Circling Seattle Sports’ previous Seattle Storm articles here.

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• Check out Circling Seattle Sports’ previous articles with photos by Rio Giancarlo here, and his portfolio here.

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