When you visit Pike Place Market in Seattle, there are a few stops everyone has to make: you must watch the workers toss salmon around at Pike Place Fish Market; you’ll want to grab coffee at the world’s first Starbucks; and you just have to wait in line at Pike Place Chowder for its award-winning specialty. But before you leave the market, don’t miss the delicious pastries at Cinnamon Works. You won’t find long queues or tourists posing for selfies here, but the scratch bakery might be the tastiest spot in the whole place.
Consider Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd the maple-frosted cinnamon roll of the WNBA. While headlines about league attendance records, dazzling rookies and expansion teams dominated this past season’s narrative, Loyd quietly went about her business like she’s always done, scoring nearly 20 points a game, making her sixth all-star team and winning her second gold medal in Paris. No flash. No wild antics. Just great basketball.
It’s that subdued confidence that likely piqued smartwater’s interest in working with Loyd for its promotion celebrating sports, style and culture. In the following interview, the 31-year-old hoops star discusses that business partnership, the WNBA’s incredible ascension and, of course, her favorite stops at Pike Place.
Seattle’s season didn’t end the way you would have wanted but talk to me about the positives that came from it.
Yeah, the season was dynamic for us, especially coming from last season, where we didn’t make the playoffs. We were trying to figure out if [the team was] going to be a rebuild, how long it’s going to be, all these things. We won 11 games last year. We played hard. The season was still really fun. We had a great group. It was a growth year. The growth that we had, we were able to come into this year, obviously adding a couple pieces. We had a 25-win season, which is dynamic. In this league, you win 20 or 25 games, that’s a good season.
We put ourselves in a position to have a chance at going to the semis, going to the finals. For us, it’s those little things that you got to take a positive from. There’s so much growth from Jordan [Horston] and Gabby [Williams] coming back. There were a lot of bright spots in this season and I’m glad that we had it. I’m just proud of my teammates.
Personally, what are some things that you’re proud to have accomplished?
The season was packed with so much basketball. For me, my biggest thing was making sure that I’m going to be the best teammate, making sure that, no matter the ups and downs of the season, I’d be that leader, that voice, of this team. If you look at the numbers, things were a little down, but I was still like top 10 in scoring. I was still productive in some way. I had games I needed to do all those things. My basketball [statistics] might have looked like they were down, but my growth as a person was dramatically bigger. As an overall person, I’m so proud of how I was able to carry myself and deal with adversity and bring people together.
But come to think about it, I won a gold medal this year. It’s something that I really wanted to do. To have two gold medals is an honor. You could always find a negative. But why do that? You want to find a positive. I’m just happy with how I carried myself this season. My teammates have my back and the people who care about me [do, too]. They were there.
When you look at the WNBA, this year’s growth and TV numbers were great. The league’s expanding into San Francisco, Portland and Toronto soon. How does it feel to finally see your hard work paying off on a bigger scale?
I think [retired Seattle Storm star] Sue [Bird] mentioned it in an interview she did, saying that you don’t always get to reap the benefits that you sow. You don’t always get to see it. Sometimes you plant it, but [by the time it grows] you’re already out of it. I’ve been in it long enough to see the changes. It’s like the second phase of my career. Before, we didn’t have charter flights. Now, we have charter flights. You see the growth. You see the excitement. You see the talk shows about it. You see the people wearing jerseys. It’s a vibe right now. It’s the new wave. And the funny thing is, it was a new wave for people this year, but it’s always been a big ocean. We’ve been swimming in this pool for years.
Also, the media coverage for all women’s sports [has improved]. And I think a little bit of that is helped with the [name, image and likeness endorsement deals] and things like that. But there’s also the talent. These women have put so much work into it. You’re finally seeing it on a national level. You just see the work, the craft and the creativity with how they’re playing. It’s been awesome. I don’t take this for granted. I’m glad I’m able to still be in it, appreciate it and also drive it forward.
With all these cameras pointed the WNBA’s way, there’s been a lot more interest in your personal style. Define Jewell Loyd’s fashion sense.
A lot of it is based on comfort. I want to be comfortable wearing things I’m going to wear again. I want to be able to have this subtle iconic look. But it’s my look, right? I don’t want to necessarily copy someone else. I think it’s very important to always stay true to yourself and find the best version of yourself, which is why I think the partnership with smartwater is smart. It makes sense because they do the same thing with water.
But at the same time, it’s about finding your individuality and finding ways to be iconic yourself. It’s about making sure that I’m able to still be myself and not lose myself. I’m not super big on flashy stuff. I don’t want [the fashion] to take away from me. I always want to be my star. I want to see me. I don’t want to look at myself in the mirror and be like, “I don’t know who this is.” I always just try to make it comfortable. It’s right to the point. It’s stylish. It’s crisp.
You always have the smartwater by your side, too.
I fully believe that when I’m looking to partner with people or companies, I really try to find a unique way to combine my passions, my similarities, my mindset with that brand. I think in a lot of ways, without even knowing it, I think smartwater has done a great job of making themselves stand out and be different. Obviously, it’s water, but what about the water makes a difference? What about the bottle makes a difference? They’re really big on making sure that the choices that you make make you a better self. I’m so big on that myself. Any decisions that I do, I’m thinking, “Does it make me better?” They align with that. So, having [the water] as an accessory, having that in my daily life, in my routine, is a constant reminder that when I’m drinking this water, I’m making myself better.
What makes Seattle so special to you?
For people who like sports, it’s such a sports city. No matter what it is, no matter who’s playing, they’re going to support. I think that makes it a very unique city to play in because it is small. It’s not like a Chicago or L.A., where things are spread out. Everything’s kind of engaged in each other. So, if things are going around in the city, you got to know about it. If something’s going down at T-Mobile Park or Lumen Field, you’re going to hear it blocks away. People are engaged in the sports culture. They want to know how they can make it better, how can they support more.
When you’re walking down the street, people are friendly. I think people walk way more than they drive [here]. I know traffic is bad everywhere, but there’s a lot of people walking around, so you’re constantly engaging with people. You don’t lose that person-to-person contact. Seattle is a very unique city.
Obviously, it rains a lot. It’s gray. But in the summertime, it’s beautiful. It’s sunny, and it’s a great place to be. Everyone who comes to visit from Chicago or wherever in the summer, they love it. The food is great. The water is this way. The hiking is that way. Nothing’s too far away from the city. But it’s so engaging. You’re finally able to slow the pace a little bit. I always encourage people to come and check it out. It’s just a nice change of scenery.
Outside of Pike Place Market, what are a few things that you suggest everyone see in the city?
I might have to charge you on this. This is good information here. Like you said, Pike Place is iconic. There’s a gum wall down there. You walk around and you’ll actually find a speakeasy [called Alibi Room], if you keep going down that street that no one really knows about. Those things are really cool.
If you like to go on hikes for a change the scenery, Discovery Park is really great. There’s so many different sceneries there. There’s the water. There’s the green. The hikes are really good, and it’s easy. But the scenery! When you get to the top, it’s unbelievable. The view is remarkable. I usually go there and walk my dogs. They love it. Dogs just want to be out in the open anyway.
Restaurants wise, I think people love the clam chowder. Go to Ivar’s. That’s known around here. I like to be around food and good music. So, a lot of my recommendations are around good vibes because that’s my comfort. But you could walk up and down the streets around Second Avenue and find really good Italian restaurants and good vibes. I think The Pink Door is a good one, too.
Besides walking your dog and playing basketball, what are a few other things you like doing around town?
I love to stay active. I’ve never been someone who’s just in the house. I do like being in the house, but I grew up always being outside, doing something active. My parents always said to go outside and be active. Pickleball is something that I picked up the last couple of years. I really enjoy it. I love the camaraderie of it. I love the sport itself. I think that it allows me to still have that tennis side. I grew up playing tennis, so it allows me to still have that oomph.
I love to cook. I like to build things. I always just like to be in a creative space, where I can use my creativeness to do something, challenge myself and think outside the box. I try to always add something to my offseason. Whether it’s another strength [goal] or challenging myself to read all these books, I just like to always be challenged. I think that’s what gets me going and keeps me from getting bored. Besides that, my friends have challenged me to get better at Call of Duty. We’ll see how that goes.
You said you like to “build things.” What kinds of things?
So, random fact: in college, I took like three workshop classes. We used to build the sets for the theater. I find it really relaxing and creative. I’ve done a lot of work in my house with my dad — carpets, floors, wallpaper, all this stuff. We just started on my garage. We’re handy. Life skills! As you get older, you start loving home décor and things like that.
