We spoke to Jewell Loyd twice last season. The first time was after she nearly beat the US Olympic squad by herself, dropping 20 points and only losing 88-84 to a team that featured Maya Moore, the 2014 MVP, and Elena Delle Donne, the 2015 MVP. After that matchup, Loyd talked to us about Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Kobe Bryant.
“They’re assassins,” Loyd said. “That’s the mentality that I wanted and just loved watching. They never took the easy way out, they never settled. That’s something that I grew up with, competing. I was the only girl playing with the guys. That’s something that I understood very well, competing.”
Fast forward to opening day of the 2017 campaign and Bryant says, “Jewell’s like a little sister to me.” That should tell you all you need to know about Jewell Loyd.
Besides showing ultimate respect to Loyd, the 2015 ROY, Bryant also talked about the skill of the W’s players. “They can play at an extremely high level,” he says.
Watch the rest of what Bean had to say about the WNBA in the video above.
And the second time that we spoke to Loyd last season, she told us she’s working to get a tip-dunk in a game. With Kobe by her side, it’s only a matter of time.
Video courtesy of NBA
