When anyone comes into the league as the No. 1 overall pick, there are high expectations that come with it. Especially when that player leaves school early to enter the draft. Especially when that player was the reigning NCAA Player of the Year. Especially when that player enters as one of the younger players in the league. Especially when your mentor is Kobe Bryant.
The overwhelming pressure didn¹t effect the 21-year-old Jewell Loyd and she came just as advertised.
She was seemingly never phased by the bright lights and continued to improve throughout the season, so much so that she became the first Storm player in franchise history to be named WNBA Rookie of the Year.
“I feel like I’ve grown since I’ve been here,” Loyd said. “Making my transition from college is a pretty smooth one. We have a great organization here that made me feel comfortable, great teammates as well. Its made the transition a lot smoother.”
However, it started out rough. Loyd struggled to find her rhythm and reached double figures once in her first eight games. Then something clicked.
She dropped a career-high 21 points at Tulsa on June 28, shooting 7-for-12 from the field and nailing all six of her free throws. It started a stretch where Loyd reached double figure scoring in six of the next eight games.
“Making that move to see everything develop was really good for me,” Loyd said. “For me to realize that I’m in the WNBA, I’m here everything is happening, the speed of the game. It was good for me to see that and assert myself in other ways.
“It really helped me grow since I’ve been here.”
That string of games lasted most of the month of July and she earned WNBA Rookie of the Month honors after averaging 10.5 points while shooting 46 percent from three and 93.9 percent from the line.
The next month was even better and she averaged 12.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and broke a franchise record by shooting 14-for-14 from the line on August 30 against Washington. The 14 attempts without a miss set a franchise record, which was previously set by Lauren Jackson who went 13-for-13 on Aug. 3, 2006 against Washington.
Loyd was nearly automatic from the line all season and finished the year by shooting 90.4 percent, which puts her as second all-time in free throw shooting and also marks only the third time in NBA or WNBA history that a rookie has shot better than 90 percent with at least three attempts per game.
The others are Elena Delle Donne and Sue Bird.
As the calendar turned to September, Loyd finally made her return home to Chicago and did not disappoint in front of friends and family. She matched her career-highs with 21 points and seven rebounds and went 6-for-6 from the line.
“That was really exciting to go back home and see familiar faces in the stands and see your family and friends and people you haven’t seen in a while. It was nice,” she said. “I’ve played in that court a couple of times and actually playing there with a WNBA jersey on, it was a little weird at first but it was fun to be home.”
The homecoming was one of a number of highlights during a season that saw Loyd average 10.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists and was the only player to rank in the top five in each category among rookies. With Loyd’s continual progression this season, her potential seems limitless going into 2016.