Over the past 3 years, the Seattle Storm have won two WNBA championships. Seattle is blessed to have Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird running the show, but a player people always forget to bring up is Jewell Loyd. There are plenty of names involved in the MVP conversation this season, and Jewell is one of them.
Jewell is in the best place of her career, starting her seventh season. She has upticks in nearly every statistical category while playing the most minutes of her career at 33.0 per game. Loyd is currently sixth in the league in scoring and playing the most efficient basketball of her career, shooting 48.5% from the field and 41.5% from the three-point line. With the considerable loss of Alysha Clark this offseason, Loyd focused on her defensive game and became the best perimeter defender for the team this season. She is currently top 10 in steals.
This year, Breanna Stewart has struggled at times due to opposing defenses. In those moments, Loyd has picked up the slack. When the Storm played the Sun, Loyd kept the team in the game long enough to win it in OT, racking up a stat line of 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. In a nail-biter against the Dallas Wings, she sent them packing hitting a 30-foot turnaround fadeaway.
With all that being said, Loyd is sharing the floor with two of the top 10-15 players in WNBA history, which absolutely helps her out and makes her life easier. However, Loyd has the highest usage rating on the team, which shows her importance to their roster and success this year. Seattle is utilizing Loyd in more pick and roll this year to help save some of Sue’s energy for the end of this season. The biggest thing with Jewell is that flying under the radar doesn’t seem to bother her. She just wants to help her team win any way she can. Kobe Bryant gave her the nickname the “Gold Mamba” and is a huge reason why she wears the number 24. When you watch her play, the resemblance is striking. She’s never over-emotional, but she always looks hyper-focused and ready to kill. Loyd is the definition of a silent assassin, and while she might not ask for the credit, she needs to get the recognition she deserves.
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