For over a decade, Jewell Loyd has crafted a resume worthy of an all-time great. After a spectacular career at Notre Dame, the 5’10” guard came to the WNBA with a ton of hype and was drafted first overall by the Seattle Storm in 2015.
Becoming a cornerstone for the franchise, Loyd took over the starting gig a little over 10 games into the season, occupying the spot for most of her career. But last offseason, she was part of a shocking three-team trade that sent her to the Las Vegas Aces. In her debut podcast episode, the WNBA legend took everyone behind the scenes of the move.
Jewell Loyd Reveals Disastrous End to Seattle Storm Tenure
Over a 10-year run, Loyd accomplished virtually everything in the league. Leading the WNBA in scoring, winning Rookie of the Year, securing two championships, and making countless All-Star and All-NBA teams, her resume was as stacked as they come.
But near the end of her run, Loyd wasn’t fully on board with the direction the Storm were going in. On the first episode of her podcast, The Warehouse, she spoke about the final days of her time in Seattle and how ugly the situation truly got.
“At the start of everything, I told my agent, ‘Just get me out. I’ll find a way. Physically, mentally, emotionally, it cannot be worse,'” Loyd said. But she also had some ideas and terms that she discussed with her agent.
However, the two-time WNBA Champion had one condition. “I trust you, figure it out. And I told her, ‘I don’t want to know until you actually, absolutely know that I’m going somewhere,'” she said. It wasn’t until some time later that the phone rang.
When her agent confirmed that she was headed to the Aces, Loyd wasn’t ready to believe it.
“There’s no way they send me to Vegas,” she said. “Like a contender, like, play with the A’ja [Wilson], Chelsea [Gray], there’s no way.”
However, a call from the reigning WNBA MVP a moment later confirmed her new destination. In one of the biggest trades in league history, the Aces received Loyd and the 13th overall pick from Los Angeles in exchange for Kelsey Plum.
Through the first six games of the season, Loyd has been in a far more diminished role with the Aces, averaging career lows in points (10.2) and field goal percentage (30.6%). In her return to Seattle, in a regular season game on May 26, she scored 14 points on 4-for-15 shooting, leading to a blowout 102-82 loss.
After two consecutive WNBA Championship victories, the Aces lost in the semifinals to the New York Liberty in 2024, sparking a drastic move in the offseason, with Loyd their key acquisition.
However, her production needs to improve quickly if the Aces want to return to the promised land.
