Jewell Loyd continues to pile up points, earning All-Star MVP with record 31 points

Storm guard Jewell Loyd had some extra motivation in Saturday’s All-Star Game as her parents were in attendance for their 40th anniversary. She forgot to get them a gift, but she believes her performance on the court covered that.  

Loyd was the MVP after her 31 points surpassed the All-Star Game record. 

“I played hard because my parents [were in attendance],” she said. “It was more so a gift for my parents. I think this will be acceptable.”

Leading the WNBA in scoring, it was only fitting for Loyd to score the most points in Saturday’s All-Star Game, helping lead Team Stewart over Team Wilson in a 143-127 win at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. 

In her fifth All-Star appearance, Loyd started on Team Stewart, hit the first four-point, 28-foot shot of the game, a wrinkle rolled out for the game, early in the first quarter, setting the tone for her dominant rest-of-the-game scoring performance.

“It was a goal of mine,” Loyd said of winning the award. “At the same time [my team] wanted me to go for it, so anything for them.”

Loyd beat the record, previously held by Maya Moore and Kelsey Plum, by a point. The Aces’ Plum, a former Washington Huskies standout, scored 30 points off the bench for Team Wilson, keeping her same All-Star Game rhythm after winning last year’s game MVP. 

“Jewell came out and knocked down a bunch of shots,” former Storm teammate Breanna Stewart said. “… We know that she can obviously score big numbers.”

Storm center Ezi Magbegor had two points off four shots, and four rebounds, in her first All-Star appearance.

After a record-breaking three-point contest victory Friday, Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu didn’t seem to break any stride with an 18-point performance, and at one point made three four-point shots in a row. 

On pace to break the seasonlong scoring record (Diana Taurasi, 25.6 per game) with an average of 25.7, Loyd knew coming in this season would be different with key players departing Seattle. She had to focus on her game more than she ever has. 

“It all started in the offseason for me,” she said. “It was a different approach. I knew things would be different coming back to Seattle, so I prepared probably the hardest I’ve ever done physically and mentally. I’m just trying to stay as present as possible and not think too far ahead.”

Griner gets game going

Brittney Griner made an emphatic and emotional return to the WNBA’s midseason showcase event. She scored 18 points, including her team’s first six, and put down two dunks.

The sellout crowd roared when Griner was introduced, and clearly moved by the ovation, she tapped her heart with her right hand. There was no doubt, a year after forcefully being absent from this event, and held in Russia on drug charges, that Griner was the star of the show.

“To have that ovation and all those little memories that I can cherish now, it means the world,” Griner said. “So it was no question I was going to come and play. They have never wavered in their support.”

Also

• The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game is headed to Phoenix, setting up as a home game for Griner and Taurasi and a send-off to the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced Saturday the event would be hosted by the Phoenix Mercury.

• Plum, who also had five assists, said sponsors pledged that for each basket and assist, $1,000 would be donated to a Las Vegas charity. She raised $16,000. “So I was gunning,” Plum said. “I mean 17 shots in 21 minutes is wild.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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