Ever since the beginning of the year, one name has captured the hearts of the Liberty faithful.
Natasha Cloud was capturing hearts in the newest 3v3 league, Unrivaled, as a member of Phantom BC. Her ability is well-documented, but what really drew eyes was her camaraderie with star guard Sabrina Ionescu. The two looked meant to share a court with one another.
GM Jonathan Kolb evidently agreed. After months of speculation, he has made it happen, and Natasha Cloud will play her 10th WNBA season in seafoam green.
https://twitter.com/LibertyLeadSM/status/1901638903724953763
It’s Getting Cloudy In New York
With this acquisition, New York receives experience, grit, and a pressure cooker at point guard.
As previously mentioned, Cloud is going into season number ten, making her the joint-longest tenured player on the team alongside Breanna Stewart. She’s also one of the most hard-working, fiercest and outspoken players in the league, and that energy is evident in her play— especially defensively. She’s been named to an All-Defensive Team twice— second team last year and in 2019, and first team in 2022.
And her being a pressure cooker? Yeah, Cloud’s numbers across the board become better come playoff time. Points per game, shooting percentages, you name it— it improves. She saves her best performances for then as well – she achieved her career high in points (33) in two playoff games. One of those actually came in New York two years ago.
Oh, and Cloud has also led the league in assists once (2022). So if nothing else, she will serve as an upper-echelon playmaker for a team that just lost one in Courtney Vandersloot to the Chicago Sky a few weeks ago. She will also make life easier for the aforementioned Ionescu, who will see more scoring opportunities with Cloud’s arrival.
It’s a trade for a well-established name with superstar value that the Liberty will feel immediately.
Natasha Cloud in New York Has Been Brewing for Years
Liberty fans have been gassing up the 33-year-old guard for months, but it’s not the first occurrence of appreciation for Cloud from New York. Her incredible playoff performance in the Barclays Center two years back earned the love of Liberty fans in attendance. It must be noted that Cloud was not only on the opposing team that night, her 33-pointer was in vain— her Washington Mystics lost the game and the series.
Liberty fans simply didn’t care.
https://twitter.com/alfcorriette/status/1901439046808645943
They were in awe of Cloud’s performance and they let her know it. Now, she gets to represent the city and those fans nightly.
This isn’t even the first time New York has gone after Cloud, either. In 2019, Cloud was a restricted free agent, and the Liberty showed tons of interest. New York actually came to an agreement on her, but since she was a restricted free agent, Washington could match the deal. Match the deal is what they did, and Cloud remained a Mystic.
Natasha Cloud and New York have been crossing paths and showing each other love for years. It seems that finally, by the will of the basketball gods, the stars have aligned in New York.
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