Las Vegas Aces veteran guard Jewell Loyd returned to her old stomping grounds on Sunday, as she played against her former team, the Seattle Storm, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Lloyd spent her first 10 seasons in the WNBA wearing Seattle colors, so it still feels unusual for at least some WNBA fans to see her in an Aces jersey.

Nevertheless, Lloyd got a warm welcome from Storm fans before the game.

Among the over 10,600 fans in attendance to watch Lloyd in her Seattle return was Milwaukee Bucks superstar point guard Damian Lillard. The Storm acknowledged the future Basketball Hall of Famer's presence with a post on X (formerly Twitter). Lillard, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon injury in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs versus the Indiana Pacers, was seemingly in good spirits while sitting courtside in the game between the Storm and the Aces.

Also present was WNBA legend Tina Thompson, as shown in the video posted on social media by the league.

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Lloyd, who was taken first overall in the 2015 WNBA draft by the Storm, however, did not have a triumphant return to Seattle, as far as the game's result is concerned. She scored 14 points on a salty 4-for-15 shooting from the field in a 102-82 Aces loss to the Storm, who were led by Nneka Ogwumike's 23 points. Erica Wheeler also had 21 points off the bench for the home team.

Nevertheless, Lloyd had a positive takeaway from the reception she received from Storm fans.

“The fans have always been really great here,” Loyd said after the game, per Kevin Pelton of ESPN. “You know, obviously, you spend 10 years somewhere you meet a lot of people and you have a lot of relationships. So it was nice to see my family out there as well. My dad came. It's cool.”

With their loss to Seattle, Lloyd and the Aces dropped to 2-2 in the WNBA standings. They will next play the Los Angeles Sparks at home on Friday before locking horns with the Storm again on Sunday, still at Climate Pledge Arena.