Jewell Loyd (born October 5, 1993) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home game ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). Nicknamed the "Gold Mamba", she played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

at Notre Dame and was selected first overall by the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

in the 2015 WNBA draft. Loyd won gold medals for the United States national team at the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Early life and college

Born in

Lincolnwood, Illinois Lincolnwood (formerly Tessville) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 13,463. An inner suburb of Chicago, it shares its southern, eastern, and a small section of its western boundary with ...

, Loyd was a four-year starter for

Niles West High School Niles West High School (NWHS), officially Niles Township High School West, is a public four-year high school located in Skokie, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago, in the United States. NWHS is part of the Niles Township Community High School ...

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a Village (United States), village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's dow ...

, 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. In her final season for Notre Dame, she was named

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's women's college basketball player of the year as the Fighting Irish advanced to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

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.

Professional career

WNBA

Seattle Storm (2015–2024)

Loyd was drafted first overall in the 2015 WNBA draft by the

. She played alongside superstar veteran point guard

Sue Bird Suzanne Brigit Bird (born October 16, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played her entire career with the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Bird was drafted first overall pick by t ...

. 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. 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 The Women's National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the 1998 WNBA season, to the top rookie of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel o ...

, 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 The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...

. 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 The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Dream compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded for the ...

in the first round elimination game. 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. 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

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 The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Sun compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team i ...

. In the 2018 season, Loyd was voted into the

2018 WNBA All-Star Game The 2018 WNBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on July 28, 2018. The Minnesota Lynx hosted the WNBA All-Star Game for the first time. Rosters Selection On June 5, the WNBA announced that 2018 would have a new roster select ...

, 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 The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

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 The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

. 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 IMG Academy is a University-preparatory school, preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport ca ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On August 20, 2020, Loyd scored a new career-high 35 points in a 90–84 loss to the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was founded for ...

, 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 The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

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

, 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 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

– and tied a league record with 22 points in a quarter. In 2023, she led the WNBA in scoring with an average of 24.7 points per game.

Las Vegas Aces (2025–present)

On January 26, 2025, it was reported that Loyd would be traded to the

in a three-team trade. The trade was officially finalized on February 1.

Overseas

After her rookie WNBA season, Loyd played for

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

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. In 2017, Loyd signed with Guri KDB Life Winnus of the Korean League for the 2017–18 offseason. In August 2018, Loyd signed with

Botaş SK Botaş SK is a sports club based in Ankara. The major branch of the club is the women's basketball, currently performing at the Women's Basketball Super League, Turkish Women's Basketball Super League. The club also competes in Athletics (sport ...

of the

Turkish League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

for the 2018–19 season. In 2019, Loyd signed with Perfumerías Avenida of the Spanish League for the 2019-20 offseason.

Unrivaled

On July 13, 2024, it was announced that Loyd would appear and play in the inaugural 2025 season of

Unrivaled Unrivaled may refer to: * Unrivaled (basketball) Unrivaled is a women's professional three-on-three basketball league in the United States. History The league was founded in 2023 by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, in part to allow WN ...

, a new women's 3-on-3 basketball league founded by

Napheesa Collier Napheesa Collier ( ; born September 23, 1996), nicknamed "Phee", is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Collier is also a founder of the Unrivaled (basketball le ...

and

Breanna Stewart Breanna Mackenzie Stewart ( ; Born, August 27, 1994), nicknamed "Stewie", is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is one of the most accomplished women in ...

National team career

Senior national team

On June 21, 2021, Loyd was named to the 12-player roster for

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. She and

went on to win the gold medal in the tournament, defeating

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

90–75 in the final. In June 2024, Loyd was again named to the US women's Olympic team to compete at the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The United States defeated

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

67–66 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, earning Loyd her second consecutive gold medal and the United States' eighth consecutive gold medal.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

''Stats current through end of 2024 season'' , - , style="text-align:left;",

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 34 , , 23 , , 25.9 , , .411 , , .208 , , .904 , , 3.5 , , 1.9 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 2.0 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 31.6 , , .431 , , .303 , , .891 , , 3.4 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 2.2 , , 16.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 31.1 , , .431 , , .386 , , .863 , , 3.4 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 2.5 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

^† , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 29.7 , , .423 , , .370 , , .851 , , 4.6 , , 3.7 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 1.9 , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 21 , , 25.4 , , .391 , , .337 , , .928 , , 2.7 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 1.9 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

^† , style="text-align:left;",

, 22 , , 22 , , 27.9 , , .443 , , .390 , , .875 , , 2.4 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 1.9 , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 31.0 , , .420 , , .376 , , .889 , , 4.0 , , 3.8 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 2.3 , , 17.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 36 , , 30.3 , , .396 , , .385 , , .893 , , 2.6 , , 3.4 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 2.2 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 38 , , 38 , , 35.4 , , .371 , , .357 , , .888 , , 4.7 , , 3.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 2.8 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 24.7° , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 33.7 , , .360 , , .274 , , .881 , , 4.5 , , 3.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 2.3 , , 19.7 , - class="sortbottom" , rowspan=2 style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 10 years, 1 team , 327 , , 310 , , 30.5 , , .402 , , .348 , , .884 , , 3.6 , , 3.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 2.2 , , 16.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;", All-Star , 6 , , 4 , , 19.3 , , .364 , , .353 , , — , , 2.7 , , 3.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , , 8.7

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 1 , , 33.1 , , .444 , , .333 , , .833 , , 4.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 24.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 1 , , 30.7 , , .286 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , 5.0 , , 1.0, , 3.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

^† , style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , 8 , , 30.7 , , .378 , , .241 , , .759 , , 5.0 , , 3.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 1.8 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 2 , , 27.5 , , .455 , , .556 , , .889 , , 2.0 , , 3.5 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 2.0 , , 16.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

^† , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 6 , , 30.2 , , .554 , , .393 , , .933 , , 5.2 , , 3.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 2.3 , , 17.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 1 , , 36.0 , , .208 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 3.0 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 6 , , 37.0 , , .389 , , .357 , , .929 , , 2.3 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 19.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 2 , , 29.5 , , .263 , , .333 , , .750 , , 3.5 , , 2.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 7.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 8 years, 1 team , 27 , , 27 , , 32.1 , , .404 , , .331 , , .874 , , 4.0 , , 3.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 1.6 , , 15.7

College

Awards and honors

* 2015—

WNBA Rookie of the Year The Women's National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the 1998 WNBA season, to the top rookie of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel o ...

* 2017— All-WNBA Second Team * 2021— All-WNBA First Team * WNBA Champion 2018 * WNBA Champion 2020

References

External links

* * *
Jewell Loyd
at

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA, and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Loyd, Jewell 1993 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's 3x3 basketball players American women's basketball players American lesbian sportswomen Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Cook County, Illinois Botaş SK players First overall WNBA draft picks Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players Las Vegas Aces players LGBTQ basketball players LGBTQ people from Illinois McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) People from Lincolnwood, Illinois Point guards Seattle Storm draft picks Seattle Storm players Shanxi Flame players United States women's national basketball team players Unrivaled basketball players WNBA All-Stars 21st-century American sportswomen