Wikipedia

Jewell Loyd

Jewell Loyd (born October 5, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first overall in the 2015 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. She played college basketball at Notre Dame.

Jewell Loyd
Loyd with the Seattle Storm in 2024
No. 24 – Seattle Storm
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1993-10-05) October 5, 1993 (age 31)
Lincolnwood, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolNiles West (Skokie, Illinois)
CollegeNotre Dame (2012–2015)
WNBA draft2015: 1st round, 1st overall pick
Selected by the Seattle Storm
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–presentSeattle Storm
2015–2016Galatasaray
2016–2017Shanxi Flame
2017–2018Guri KDB Life Winnus
2018–2019Botaş SK
2019–2020Perfumerías Avenida
2025–presentMist BC
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Representing the  United States
Women's basketball
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2018 Spain
Gold medal – first place 2022 Australia
U17 World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2010 France
Basketball 3x3
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2014 Moscow

She won gold medals for Team USA at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. Loyd's nickname is the "Gold Mamba".[1][2][3]

Early life and college

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Born in Lincolnwood, Illinois, Loyd was a four-year starter for Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois, where she averaged 24.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per game and scored 3,077 career points, leading the team to a 93–31 record during that time.[citation needed]

In her final season for Notre Dame, she was named ESPN's women's college basketball player of the year as the Fighting Irish advanced to the NCAA championship game for the second year in a row. Loyd scored 1,909 points in her college career, Notre Dame's fifth-highest total ever.[4]

Professional career

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WNBA

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Loyd was drafted first overall in the 2015 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. She played alongside superstar veteran point guard Sue Bird. Loyd played the point guard position prior to her WNBA career, but with Bird already playing point guard for the Storm, Loyd instead played as a shooting guard. Loyd was also a backup point guard in her rookie season for the Storm. While Bird sat out the final seven games of the regular season to rest, Loyd was the starting point guard.[5][6] Loyd played 34 games with 23 starts in her rookie season for the Storm. Her season performance earned her the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award, while she averaged 10.7 ppg.

In her second season, Loyd developed into a star player and was the starting shooting guard for the Storm, averaging 16.5 ppg. During the season, Loyd scored a career-high 32 points in a win against the Phoenix Mercury. Loyd was also named to the All-WNBA Second Team. The Storm made it back to the playoffs for the first time in three years with the number 7 seed in the league. In her first career playoff game, Loyd scored 24 points in a 94–85 loss to the Atlanta Dream in the first round elimination game.[7]

In the 2017 season, Loyd's offensive scoring numbers increased. She scored a new career-high of 33 points in a 75–71 loss to the Phoenix Mercury.[8] By the end of the season, Loyd averaged a career-high 17.7 ppg. The Storm finished off the season as the number 8 seed in the league with a 15–19 record. The Storm were defeated 79–69 by the Phoenix Mercury in the first round elimination game, Loyd scored 17 points in the loss.

On July 20, 2018, Loyd scored a season-high 31 points in a 78–65 victory against the Connecticut Sun.[9] In the 2018 season, Loyd was voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her first career all-star appearance. Loyd finished off the season, averaging 15.5 ppg as the Storm finished 26–8 with the number 1 seed in the league, receiving a double-bye to the semi-finals and home court advantage. In the semi-finals, the Storm defeated the Phoenix Mercury in five games, advancing to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2010. In the Finals, the Storm defeated the Washington Mystics in a three-game sweep, winning their first championship in 8 years.

On June 21, 2019, Loyd scored a season-high 23 points while tying a career-high 5 three-pointers in an 82–64 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks.[10] Loyd would also make her second all-star appearance in the 2019 season. By the end of the season, the Storm were the number 6 seed with an 18–16 record. The Storm were unable to defend their title in the playoffs as they were eliminated in the second round elimination game by the Sparks.

In 2020, the season was delayed and shortened to 22 games in a bubble at IMG Academy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 20, 2020, Loyd scored a new career-high 35 points in a 90–84 loss to the Indiana Fever, despite the pandemic the Storm had a fully loaded roster and finished 18–4 with the number two seed, receiving a double bye to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the Storm would sweep the Minnesota Lynx in three games, advancing back to the Finals for the second time in three years. In the Finals, the Storm would win the championship after sweeping the Las Vegas Aces, earning Loyd her second championship.

In 2021, she was named to the All-WNBA First team. Loyd averaged 17.9 points (seventh in the WNBA), 3.8 assists (12th), and 1.48 steals (seventh). On September 17 against Phoenix, Loyd scored a career-high 37 points – the most points by a player in a game in the 2021 season – and tied a league record with 22 points in a quarter.

Overseas

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After her rookie WNBA season, Loyd played for Galatasaray in Turkey during the 2015–16 offseason. She averaged 14.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 2.3 apg in 17 games. In August 2016, Loyd signed with the Shanxi Flame of the Chinese League for the 2016–17 offseason.[11] In 2017, Loyd signed with Guri KDB Life Winnus of the Korean League for the 2017–18 offseason.[12] In August 2018, Loyd signed with Botaş SK of the Turkish League for the 2018–19 season.[13] In 2019, Loyd signed with Perfumerías Avenida of the Spanish League for the 2019-20 offseason.[14]

Unrivaled

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On July 13, 2024, it was announced that Loyd would appear and play in the inaugural 2025 season of Unrivaled, a new women's 3x3 basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.[15]

National team career

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Senior national team

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On June 21, 2021, Loyd was named to the 12-player roster for Team USA for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[16] She and Team USA went on to win the gold medal in the tournament, defeating Japan 90–75 in the final.[17]

In June 2024, Loyd was again named to the US women's Olympic team to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[18] The United States defeated France 67–66 in the final, earning Loyd her second consecutive gold medal and the United States' eighth consecutive gold medal.[19]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
† Denotes seasons in which Loyd won a WNBA championship

WNBA

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Regular season

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Stats current through end of 2024 season

WNBA regular season statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2015 Seattle 34 23 25.9 .411 .208 .904 3.5 1.9 0.5 0.2 2.0 10.7
2016 Seattle 34 34 31.6 .431 .303 .891 3.4 3.4 1.2 0.2 2.2 16.5
2017 Seattle 34 34 31.1 .431 .386 .863 3.4 3.4 1.2 0.3 2.5 17.7
2018† Seattle 34 34 29.7 .423 .370 .851 4.6 3.7 1.2 0.1 1.9 15.5
2019 Seattle 27 21 25.4 .391 .337 .928 2.7 2.0 1.3 0.1 1.9 12.3
2020† Seattle 22 22 27.9 .443 .390 .875 2.4 3.2 1.5 0.3 1.9 15.5
2021 Seattle 31 31 31.0 .420 .376 .889 4.0 3.8 1.5 0.2 2.3 17.9
2022 Seattle 36 36 30.3 .396 .385 .893 2.6 3.4 1.1 0.2 2.2 16.3
2023 Seattle 38 38 35.4 .371 .357 .888 4.7 3.4 1.0 0.4 2.8 24.7°
2024 Seattle 37 37 33.7 .360 .274 .881 4.5 3.6 1.4 0.2 2.3 19.7
Career 10 years, 1 team 327 310 30.5 .402 .348 .884 3.6 3.2 1.2 0.2 2.2 16.9
All-Star 6 4 19.3 .364 .353 — 2.7 3.5 0.2 0.0 0.7 8.7

Playoffs

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WNBA playoff statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2016 Seattle 1 1 33.1 .444 .333 .833 4.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 24.0
2017 Seattle 1 1 30.7 .286 .333 1.000 5.0 1.0 3.0 0.0 2.0 17.0
2018† Seattle 8 8 30.7 .378 .241 .759 5.0 3.3 0.7 0.3 1.8 12.1
2019 Seattle 2 2 27.5 .455 .556 .889 2.0 3.5 1.5 0.5 2.0 16.5
2020† Seattle 6 6 30.2 .554 .393 .933 5.2 3.8 1.3 0.5 2.3 17.8
2021 Seattle 1 1 36.0 .208 .000 1.000 3.0 5.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 15.0
2022 Seattle 6 6 37.0 .389 .357 .929 2.3 2.5 0.5 0.0 1.0 19.2
2024 Seattle 2 2 29.5 .263 .333 .750 3.5 2.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 7.5
Career 8 years, 1 team 27 27 32.1 .404 .331 .874 4.0 3.1 0.9 0.3 1.6 15.7

College

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NCAA statistics[20]
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Notre Dame 36 450 44.7 41.3 82.0 5.2 2.1 1.0 0.3 12.5
2013–14 Notre Dame 37 687 51.7 39.8 80.8 6.5 2.1 1.6 0.5 18.6
2014–15 Notre Dame 39 772 44.3 30.8 82.6 5.3 3.0 1.5 0.4 19.8
Career 112 1909 47.0 36.7 81.9 5.7 2.4 1.4 0.4 17.0

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ Pickman, Ben (6 November 2020). "The Incomparable Journey of Jewell Loyd". Sports Illustrated.
  2. ^ Ariail, Cat (3 June 2024). "WNBA Hoopers Hierarchy: No. 7 Jewell Loyd has become the Gold Mamba". Swish Appeal.
  3. ^ "Jewell Loyd's Gold Mamba Mentality Propels her Success on and off the Hardwood". USA Basketball.
  4. ^ "Jewell Loyd". Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  5. ^ "Storm get Shell-Shocked, lose 85–66". Sonics Rising. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  6. ^ "Storm guard Jewell Loyd intends to play without fear in her 2nd WNBA season". The Seattle Times. April 26, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  7. ^ 2016 WNBA Playoffs: Dream advance with 94–85 win over Storm
  8. ^ "Mercury keeps Sue Bird from breaking assist mark, beats Storm". The Seattle Times. August 27, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  9. ^ Jewell Loyd scores 31 points to lead Storm to victory at Connecticut
  10. ^ Storm beat Sparks 84-62 in coach Hughes' return
  11. ^ "2016–2017 WNBA Overseas Signings – Women's Basketball 24.7". Women's Basketball 24.7. August 22, 2016. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  12. ^ WNBA Players Playing Overseas
  13. ^ Jewell Loyd signs at Botas
  14. ^ WNBA Overseas Tracker: Your favorite players around the world
  15. ^ @Unrivaledwbb (July 13, 2024). "THE GOLD MAMBA IS UNRIVALED👑 5/30✅" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Wimbish, Jasmyn (June 21, 2021). "Team USA women's basketball roster announced for 2020 Olympics, headlined by Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  17. ^ Wallace, Ava (August 8, 2021). "Dawn Staley and Sue Bird make sure their final USA Basketball moment is golden". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  18. ^ Henderson, Cydney (June 17, 2024). "USA basketball Olympic women's team roster: Who made the cut for Paris Olympics". USA Today. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  19. ^ Summers, Juana (August 11, 2024). "U.S. women's basketball team defeats France to win eighth straight Olympic gold medal". NPR. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  20. ^ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  21. ^ "Storm's Jewell Loyd Headlines 2015 WNBA All-Rookie Team". wnba.com/. September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
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