Sue Bird Chosen as the Best Leader for the Sixth Time in Seven Years

NEW YORK – Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd was chosen as the overwhelming favorite for Rookie of the Year in the 2015 WNBA.com GM Survey, announced today by the WNBA. Loyd garnered 91.7 percent of the votes, the highest percentage of votes in any category in the survey. The No. 1 overall selection in the WNBA Draft presented by State Farm® this past April, Loyd also shared the top spot for the newly acquired player who will make the biggest impact in 2015, tying Chicago’s Cappie Pondexter (33.3 percent each).

Sue Bird, an eight-time All-Star and two-time league champion, was chosen as the best leader for the sixth time in seven years (41.7 percent) and also was named the player who would someday make the best head coach (75 percent). In addition, she tied with the Sky’s Elena Delle Donne as the player GMs would want taking the last shot with the game on the line (33.3 percent).

The GMs regarded Seattle as the team that made the best offseason moves, earning 33.3 percent of the votes after adding Loyd and No. 3 overall selection Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (the latter with a pick acquired in a trade with the Connecticut Sun). Seattle also added guard Renee Montgomery and 6-5 center Quanitra Hollingsworth as a result of offseason trades.

The complete results of the exclusive survey will be posted today on WNBA.com in advance of WNBA Tip-Off 2015 presented by Boost Mobile.

Seattle opens the 2015 season on June 6 vs. Los Angeles and the first 3,000 fans will receive a free Jewell Loyd t-shirt. Storm 360 Memberships, starting at $179, are still available by calling (206) 217-WNBA (9622) or by visiting StormBasketball.com.