Jewell Loyd made her debut with the Las Vegas Aces last weekend and struggled, posting five points on 2-of-10 shooting in a lopsided loss. The Athletic reported Friday that Aces head coach Becky Hammon responded to that stumble with a five-word text to her new guard that night:
“I’m not worried about you.”
The message aged well. In the Aces’ home opener on Friday, Loyd made her first big shot with Vegas after a career full of them with the Seattle Storm, hitting a 3-pointer in the final seconds of a 75-72 comeback win over the Washington Mystics.
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Loyd struck from the corner after a set-up from A’ja Wilson:
The Aces entered the fourth quarter down nine points to the Mystics and were again down by that much with a little over three minutes left in the game. Jackie Young supplied much of the offense in the ensuring comeback, and finished with a game-high 25 points on 7-of-15 shooting with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Before the big shot, Loyd was 1-for-8 from the field in the game. As she told reporters after the game, her teammates pushed her to stay aggressive with the ball:
“Whole game, everyone was telling me ‘Keep shooting.’ Right before we got out, A’ja was like, ‘Shoot the ball.’ She made a great pass and I didn’t fade.”
Jewell Loyd’s Aces teammates were hyped for her. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Ethan Miller via Getty Images)
Loyd, a six-time All-Star and two-time champion, landed with the Aces last offseason on a blockbuster three-team trade that saw Kelsey Plum head to the Los Angeles Sparks and multiple major draft picks go to Seattle as it embraced a rebuild. At age 31, Loyd joined a veteran roster trying to re-adjust after a somewhat disappointing season last year that ended in the semifinals.
It’s still hard to say if it’s a great fit — Loyd is still shooting only 11-of-33 from the field through three games — but there’s no better way to get a player’s confidence up than Friday’s ending.
