'We really left our mark': Jewell Loyd reflects on return to Seattle

IF THE Las Vegas Aces' squad autobus took the close detour to Sunday's crippled against the Seattle Storm, it could walk a mural a mates of blocks northwest of Climate Pledge Arena.

Unveiled successful March 2021, months aft the Storm won a record-tying 4th WNBA championship, the mural depicts the team's large 3 -- Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart -- wearing the "Black Lives Matter" and "Say Her Name" T-shirts players utilized for warmups during the 2020 play played successful a bubble successful Bradenton, Florida.

That's however Loyd hopes she'll beryllium remembered successful Seattle: a cardinal portion of the iconic trio who brought location 2 titles successful 3 years.

"I don't deliberation you could look astatine Seattle and not deliberation of america three, arsenic good arsenic Lauren Jackson, arsenic players who came successful arsenic young adults and benignant of grew up into mature women," Loyd told ESPN. "I deliberation that's truly chill to beryllium a portion of that."

Yet Loyd volition beryllium connected the Aces' autobus Sunday. Her instrumentality to Seattle for the archetypal clip arsenic a visiting subordinate came overmuch sooner than anyone had expected. After signing a declaration hold successful 2023 astatine the extremity of the Storm's archetypal play pursuing Bird's status and Stewart's departure for the New York Liberty successful escaped agency, Loyd helped enlistee prima escaped agents Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike. She looked similar the span betwixt Seattle large threes, hoping to instrumentality the Storm to contention.

Instead, aft an probe into Loyd's offseason ailment alleging bullying and harassment by the Storm coaching unit found nary violations, she requested a trade.

But she hopes her accomplishments successful Seattle volition ne'er beryllium forgotten.

"I deliberation I tried to laic the instauration for what a title squad looks like, a title player," she said. "I deliberation that's the aforesaid for me, Stewie and Sue. We each speech astir it ourselves. We truly near our mark."

LOYD'S SPLIT WITH the Storm began successful November, erstwhile ESPN confirmed a Chicago Sun-Times study that the enactment had retained an extracurricular researcher to measure Loyd's allegations against the Seattle coaching staff, led by Noelle Quinn -- a erstwhile teammate of Loyd's who has been caput manager since 2021. ESPN subsequently confirmed that Loyd had filed the complaint.

The pursuing month, Seattle released a connection indicating the probe had been completed without uncovering immoderate violations. Hours later, the Sun-Times reported and ESPN confirmed that Loyd had requested a trade from the squad that drafted her No. 1 retired of Notre Dame successful 2015.

The Seattle Times aboriginal reported that Loyd would person withdrawn her commercialized petition had the squad fired Quinn.

In pursuit of what she described arsenic "a caller start," Loyd understood she couldn't power her destination, having signed a two-year hold with the Storm that runs done this season.

"Once the petition was made, I didn't truly person a say," Loyd said. "Everything benignant of worked retired and I got to a spot I wanted to beryllium with radical who I cognize and an enactment that is simply a contender."

For their part, the Storm enactment was consenting to nonstop Loyd determination she wanted to be, with the Aces astatine the apical of that database acknowledgment to Loyd's acquisition playing with Las Vegas stars Chelsea Gray, A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young -- portion of a core, on with Kelsey Plum, that won back-to-back WNBA titles for the Aces successful 2022 and 2023 -- connected the U.S. women's nationalist team.

"I deliberation we ever effort to bash close by the players if we can, and if there's a concern that makes consciousness for america arsenic well," Seattle GM Talisa Rhea told ESPN. "I consciousness similar that commercialized benignant of accomplished each of those things."

Plum's tendency to articulation the Los Angeles Sparks via a sign-and-trade arsenic a halfway escaped cause acceptable up a workable three-team framework. Loyd went to the Aces arsenic Plum's replacement successful the starting five, portion the Storm were capable to onshore a bundle of picks and players headlined by this year's No. 2 wide selection, a prime they utilized connected 19-year-old French station subordinate Dominique Malonga.

AHEAD OF HER 2nd crippled with Las Vegas earlier this week successful Connecticut, Loyd said she hasn't been reasoning astir what her instrumentality to Seattle connected the visiting broadside mightiness beryllium like.

"It's different crippled for us," she said. "I'm focused connected what we're trying to do. Obviously, I person household successful Seattle arsenic well, truthful it's ever bully to spot household erstwhile you can."

After an disconnected nighttime successful her Aces debut, scoring 5 points connected 2-of-10 shooting successful a nonaccomplishment astatine New York, Loyd looked much similar her All-Star aforesaid against the Sun. She scored 20 points successful 21 minutes, making six 3-pointers to lucifer her 2024 play high. On Friday, Loyd made the game-winning 3 successful the last seconds to bushed the Washington Mystics successful her archetypal location game.

In the aboriginal going, Loyd is feeling bully astir however she's fitting successful with a Vegas squad that mislaid successful the semifinals past year.

"I deliberation a batch of it is adjustments," she said. "I deliberation we're seeing that passim signifier and learning a batch much terminology for me, seeing wherever I tin person my power connected some ends of the floor. I'm successful a truly bully spot. I'm loving the game."

As for this weekend, successful summation to seeing family, Loyd is hoping to sojourn Molly Moon's, a Seattle favourite ("a beauteous iconic crystal pick place," she said) that she shouted retired successful her Players Tribune farewell to the Storm.

Long a instrumentality of Molly Moon's, Loyd's transportation to the section concatenation deepened erstwhile she wore customized shoes to beforehand autism consciousness past season designed by her champion friend's son, Justice Swann, who has autism.

"They've ever been ace supportive, and we shared a bully enslaved with my shoes," Loyd said. "They supported maine a lot, truthful possibly spell backmost there."

Molly Moon's laminitis Molly Moon Neitzel attended a crippled past play with her daughter, who besides has autism and took enactment of Loyd's shoes and the video describing their meaning. Neitzel plans to beryllium astatine Sunday's crippled -- and said she would emotion to scoop crystal pick for Loyd if she makes it to Molly Moon's.

WHEN LOYD AND the Aces caput backmost to Las Vegas aft Sunday's game, the mural -- painted by section artists Mari Shibuya and Zahyr Lauren -- volition remain.

So excessively volition Loyd's bequest of occurrence successful Seattle. Bird and longtime defender Tanisha Wright are the 2 players successful Storm past to play much games than Loyd, who ranks 3rd connected the team's all-time scoring database down Bird and Jackson, who was a three-time MVP.

"She's a [multitime] champion present and portion of Storm past and Storm legacy," Rhea said. "For me, truthful overmuch of my clip here, Jewell was present and a immense portion of our occurrence connected the court. I cognize that she means a batch to the metropolis and to the franchise and what she was capable to assistance america accomplish."

Seattle guardant Alysha Clark, a subordinate of the 2018 and 2020 rubric teams alongside Loyd earlier re-signing with the Storm this offseason, highlighted Loyd's publication to the team's title culture. Clark summed up Loyd's Seattle bequest arsenic "a champion."

For her part, Loyd sees the commercialized arsenic the dividing constituent successful what she envisions volition beryllium a two-decade WNBA career, overmuch similar Bird's.

"If you conscionable look astatine the 10 years of anyone's career, evidently mine, I deliberation it says that I've done a batch of large things connected the court," she said. "I deliberation the biggest interaction is astir apt off-the-court things I've done. ... Now I'm reasoning the adjacent 10 years of my beingness successful wide are going to beryllium immoderate of the champion years truthful far."