Natasha Cloud has been in the WNBA for 10 seasons, so she knows her way around the league and its teams. Cloud, who played for the Phoenix Mercury, saw her zip code change a couple of times in the offseason due to trades. Now, though, she’s getting comfortable with her new team, the New York Liberty.
It’s not too shabby when a player gets to join the defending WNBA champions before a new season starts. Still, Cloud has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to knowing the team’s plays.
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“So I’m going to continue to study,” Cloud, 33, told the New York Daily News. I just asked for a playbook today, because as a point guard, I love to be thorough. So I don’t want to only know what my position is. I want to know where everyone’s supposed to be on the board, the nuances of offense, the options too.”
Natasha Cloud posted pretty respectable numbers in the WNBA last season
How did her numbers last season stack up against some of the WNBA’s newest stars? Cloud ended up third in the league in assists per game with 6.9 in 2024. That put her behind Caitlin Clark (8.4) and Alyssa Thomas (7.9). Cloud also averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. Those numbers were good enough to bring her All-Defensive Second Team honors in the WNBA.
She’s trying to hurry up and learn all the strategies that the Liberty will use in game situations. But Cloud admits that she needs to slow things down a little bit.
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“If I’m going to be honest, I’m playing a little too fast right now,” she said. Cloud joined the Liberty after being traded from Phoenix to the Connecticut Sun. Cloud never took the court for the Sun as they sent her to New York in the offseason.
Liberty teammate Sabrina Ionescu is ready to offer a helping hand whenever possible. Ionescu is just happy to have Cloud on her team.
“It’s gonna be great,” Ionescu said. “Just the ability to play off one another, her ability to get downhill and create. She’s through and through a pass-first point guard.”
If anyone is ready for a challenge in the WNBA, then it’s Cloud. She looks to use her veteran status in a good way for the Liberty this season.
