Seattle Storm trade Jewell Loyd to Aces in three-team deal, per report

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 07: Kelsey Plum (L) #10 of the Las Vegas Aces and Jewell Loyd #24 of the Seattle Storm talk on the court before their game at Michelob ULTRA Arena on June 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

The Seattle Storm are trading All-Star guard Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces as part of a blockbuster three-team WNBA trade, per a report from ESPN.com.

The Storm received the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, a 2026 first-round pick from Las Vegas, and center Li Yueru from the Los Angeles Sparks.

Loyd and the 13th overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft go to Las Vegas, and the Sparks received former University of Washington legend Kelsey Plum, Seattle’s 9th overall draft pick, and a 2026 second-round pick from the Storm.

Dig deeper:

The trade comes over a month removed from Loyd requesting a trade out of Seattle after levying accusations of wrongdoing against the coaching staff. Loyd was alleging player mistreatment and bullying from the coaching staff tied to on-court performance last season. However, an investigation into the complaints by an outside agency returned no violations.

Loyd has spent all 10 seasons in the WNBA with the Storm, earning Rookie of the Year honors in 2015. A two-time WNBA champion with the Storm, Loyd is a six-time All-Star and earned the WNBA scoring title and WNBA All-Star Game MVP in 2023.

Meanwhile, Plum has also been a standout performer in eight seasons in the league. She’s a three-time All-Star and two-time WNBA Champion with the Aces, and was the All-Star Game MVP in 2022. The University of Washington retired Plum’s No. 10 jersey last week in celebration of the greatest player in school history. She held the NCAA all-time career scoring record until it was broken by Iowa’s Caitlin Clark last year.

Both Loyd and Plum are former No. 1 overall draft picks. The deal is the first in WNBA history to include multiple No. 1 picks. The deal will be official on February 1.

The Source: Reported by Shams Charania, Alexa Philippou, Ramona Shelburne, and Malika Andrews of ESPN.com.

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