Kobe Bryant’s impact on basketball exceeds the comprehension of even the biggest fan. His mentorship didn’t limit itself to the NBA, but reached the WNBA. Las Vegas Aces star Jewell Loyd was a disciple of Bryant’s teachings. Surprisingly, his biggest impact on her didn’t come on the basketball court.
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Entering the 2025 WNBA season, Loyd is one of the best players in the league. It wasn’t a smooth journey for her to reach that point in her career. The one consistent voice in her ear was the Lakers legend, with whom she had formed a connection during her collegiate career.
Loyd attended Notre Dame University for three seasons. She steadily improved to become the best player in women’s college basketball in the 2014-15 season. As a result, the Seattle Storm selected her with the first overall pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft.
Storm legend Sue Bird spent seven seasons alongside Loyd. She couldn’t fathom Loyd’s outstanding scoring ability. In the six-time All-Star’s appearance on Bird’s Eye View, Bird asked about Bryant’s lasting impact on Loyd’s game. Her response wasn’t something that the four-time WNBA champion was expecting.
“Everyone talks about the mindset, but I think it’s the vulnerability,” Loyd confessed. “A lot of the time we talked, it was trying to get me outside of my comfort zone.”
Loyd didn’t anticipate that her relationship with Bryant had moved past the basketball court and had progressed to life advice. Nonetheless, it continues to leave a lasting imprint on her life. She went on to recall a specific encounter between the two, which she holds close to her heart.
At the time, Loyd was overseas. Bryant sent Loyd an email consisting of a 700-page document, which was a book he was working on. At first glance, she expressed confusion about Bryant’s actions. In hindsight, she is extremely grateful for the intimate moment.
“He’s like, ‘I know reading is tough for you, let’s read this book together,'” Loyd said. “He knew I was dyslexic, and he struggled with those things too. Having that moment was bigger than anything.”
Loyd’s experience with Bryant is one of the many testaments to the Hall-of-Fame guard’s character. Shortly after, Loyd and Bird began speaking of another instance involving Bryant.
Bird brought up an Instagram post from Loyd, which featured a question to Bryant. His response reminded the former teammates of his iconic Nike commercial with Kanye West.
“You’re asking him, ‘How do I get out of this shooting slump,’ and he’s like, ‘There’s no such thing as a shooting funk,'” Bird recalled. “It reminds me of the Nike commercial and Kanye West being like, ‘What does that mean?'”
Although Kobe has unfortunately passed, his legacy lives on in players such as Jewell Loyd—not only on the basketball court, but in everyday life.
