Natasha Cloud is another underrated addition to the Unrivaled League. Cloud is a native of Broomall, Pennsylvania who grew up in a sports-oriented family that allowed her to develop a passion for basketball at an early age. The early start was proven to be a wise decision by her family because she grew into a dominant force on the high-school level, while attending Cardinal O’Hara. This allowed Cloud to earn a scholarship to the University of Maryland where she played for two seasons.
After those two seasons at Maryland she decided to transfer to Saint Joseph’s University for an increased role. At Saint Joseph’s, she was able to blossom into a top player in the country by showcasing the totality of her undeniable basketball acumen and playmaking ability from the point-guard position. In her senior season back in 2014-15, she averaged 12.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.6 rebounds per game, earning her recognition as one of the best guards in the A-10 Conference. Cloud was even named to the All-Atlantic 10 First Team and the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team, further solidifying her reputation as an elite two-way playmaker.
Natasha Cloud would then go on to being selected with the 15th overall pick in the second round of the 2015 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics. Since then, Cloud had become the heart and soul of the Mystics as she was the engine of the team that always displayed vocal leadership and tremendous production on both ends of the floor. One of her best seasons came in 2019 when she led the Mystics to their first WNBA Championship alongside the great Elena Delle Donne. During the playoffs you could just see how Cloud’s leadership, playmaking, and defensive tenacity were critical in propelling the Mystics to their first WNBA Championship.
Aside from becoming a champion in 2019, she has racked up an abundance of individual awards since being drafted in 2015. She earned WNBA All-Defensive First Team honors in 2022, along with a couple of Second-Team All-Defense honors in 2019 and 2024. Cloud was also the WNBA assist leader in 2022 and during September of this 2024 season, she became the single-season assist leader in Phoenix Mercury history.
In addition to her championship and individual success, Cloud has been recognized for more accolades that go further than the game of basketball. She has been an outspoken advocate for social justice, using her platform to bring attention to racial inequality and other societal issues. Cloud made headlines in 2020 when she opted out of the WNBA season to focus on social justice work following the murder of George Floyd, which goes to show her commitment of being a leader on and off of the floor. Natasha Cloud is bringing more than leadership to the Unrivaled league. She will be an asset on the offensive end when it comes to facilitating scoring possessions with her true floor general qualities like precision passing and basketball IQ. Defensively, Cloud will affect the competition because she’s a relentless on-ball defender. She uses her size and athleticism at 6’0” tall to disrupt opposing guards who are often smaller than her. Her physicality and energy makes her a force on the perimeter and her quickness allows her to guard multiple positions effectively. Cloud will make an impact in the Unrivaled league because she’s a balanced floor general that knows how to control the pace of the game under any circumstances.
