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Natasha Cloud

Natasha "Tasha" Cloud (born February 22, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Natasha Cloud
Cloud
Cloud with the Phoenix Mercury in 2024
No. 0 – Phoenix Mercury
PositionPoint guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1992-02-22) February 22, 1992 (age 32)
Broomall, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight160 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High schoolCardinal O'Hara
(Springfield, Pennsylvania)
College
WNBA draft2015: 2nd round, 15th overall pick
Selected by the Washington Mystics
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2019Washington Mystics
2015–2016Beşiktaş
2016–2017Townsville Fire
2021–2023Washington Mystics
2022–2024Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball
2024–presentPhoenix Mercury
2025–presentLunar Owls BC
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Early life

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During high school, Cloud led Cardinal O'Hara to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AAAA state finals as a junior and to the second round as a senior. She earned First Team All-Delco honors in both her junior and senior year. As a junior, she additionally earned a Pennsylvania AAAA Third Team All-State selection.[1]

Natasha Cloud gained recognition after being named AAAA First Team All-State as a senior. During the season, she averaged 12.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 4.0 steals per game.[1] She earned the Michael Menichini Award in 2009.

Following her high school career, Cloud received a scholarship to play at the University of Maryland as a Terp.

College career

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University of Maryland

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2010–2011: Cloud played in 31 of 32 games of her freshman year and started six times.[2] During the season, she led the team in assists twice and in blocks three times while also being named a Scholar Athlete.[2]

Her coach, Brenda Frese, stated that:

Natasha is a very athletic and unselfish player who will do whatever her team needs to help us win. She's a strong defensive player, who can play either guard spot and is a terrific passer. Natasha has a ton of personality, is a good student and fits right in with our team.[2]

Following the 2010-2011 basketball season, Cloud transferred to Saint Joseph's University.

Saint Joseph's University

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Cloud at Saint Joseph's

2011–2012: Due to NCAA transfer rules, Cloud sat out the 2011–2012 season. She was named a member of the SJU Director's Honor Roll.[1]

2013–2014: Cloud served as co-captain of her team. She earned Atlantic 10 (A10) Defensive Player of the Year and was additionally named to the A10 All-Conference Second Team.[1] She was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List for the top point guard in the nation.

During the season, Cloud averaged 11.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game. She ranked second nationally in assists per game, setting the SJU single-season record for assists (243) and leading the A10 in assists and assists to turnover ratio.[1] During the 2014 NCAA tournament, she scored 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots, and two steals in a first round win over Georgia. During the second round, she posted 10 points, six assists, one block, and one steal against Connecticut, the eventual champions.[1]

2014–2015: Cloud served as the co-captain of her team for the second straight year. She was named Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team and was an All-Defensive Team selection. She was a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award and Naismith Trophy Watch List nominee.

During the season, Cloud averaged 12.9 points a game and led the Atlantic 10 in assists and averaged minutes.[1] She scored a career-high 29 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot against Liberty.[1]

Professional career

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Cloud with the Washington Mystics in 2019

WNBA

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Cloud was selected in the second round and 15th overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2015 WNBA draft.[3] During her rookie season, she averaged 3.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game over an average of 19.3 minutes.[3]

In 2016, Cloud suffered a left hip injury during practice at the Verizon Center.[4]

On October 10, 2019, Cloud won her first WNBA championship.[5]

In June 2020, Cloud announced that she would forgo the 2020 WNBA season due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and a desire to focus on social justice advocacy.[6]

After playing for the Mystics for nine years, Cloud signed to the Phoenix Mercury in 2024.[7]

International

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During the 2015–2016 season, Cloud played in Istanbul, Turkey for Besiktas.[8]

Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball

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From 2022 to 2024, Cloud played for Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball. She was a member of the Player Executive Committee from 2022 to 2023 and named to the league's 2023 All Defense Team.[9]

Unrivaled

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On August 27, 2024, it was announced that Cloud would appear and play in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, the women's 3x3 basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.[10]

National team career

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Cloud represented Jordan at the 2021 FIBA Women's Asia Cup in Amman, Jordan.[11] She helped her team to reach the promotion playoff final, before losing to Lebanon and missing promotion to Division A.[12]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
† Denotes season(s) in which Cloud won a WNBA championship

WNBA

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Regular season

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Stats current through end of 2024 season

WNBA regular season statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2015 Washington 34 22 19.3 .320 .237 .681 2.8 3.4 0.9 0.1 1.4 3.6
2016 Washington 31 28 24.3 .348 .338 .754 3.0 3.8 0.8 0.1 1.4 5.7
2017 Washington 24 0 18.7 .314 .235 .741 2.5 2.9 0.7 0.1 1.0 4.4
2018 Washington 27 22 26.5 .436 .386 .778 3.2 4.6 0.7 0.1 1.7 8.6
2019† Washington 34 34 32.1 .394 .326 .683 2.5 5.6 1.0 0.2 1.9 9.0
2020 Did not play (opted out)
2021 Washington 27 27 31.6 .389 .274 .836 3.6 6.4 1.4 0.1 2.2 8.7
2022 Washington 34 34 31.3 .399 .319 .824 3.6 7.0 1.0 0.3 2.8 10.7
2023 Washington 37 37 32.4 .377 .298 .900 3.7 6.2 1.1 0.3 2.6 12.7
2024 Phoenix 38 38 33.3 .397 .308 .826 4.1 6.9 1.4 0.6 3.0 11.5
Career 9 years, 2 teams 286 242 28.1 .384 .309 .806 3.3 5.3 1.0 0.2 2.1 8.6

Playoffs

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WNBA playoff statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2015 Washington 3 2 14.0 .429 .333 — 1.0 1.3 1.0 0.0 1.7 2.3
2017 Washington 5 0 17.4 .333 .333 .750 2.4 2.2 0.6 0.2 1.8 4.8
2018 Washington 9 9 25.7 .400 .414 .769 3.4 4.1 0.8 0.1 1.9 8.2
2019† Washington 9 9 34.2 .442 .378 .850 3.4 6.2 1.1 0.2 1.3 13.1
2022 Washington 2 2 35.5 .500 .700 1.000 6.0 3.0 0.5 1.5 3.0 18.5
2023 Washington 2 2 37.0 .433 .500 1.000 7.0 8.5 2.0° 0.0 1.5 18.5
2024 Phoenix 2 2 36.5 .543 .462 .833 5.5 10.0° 1.0 0.5 3.0 24.5°
Career 7 years, 2 teams 32 26 27.7 .439 .429 .849 3.6 4.7 0.9 0.3 1.8 10.8

College

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Source[13]

Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Maryland 31 76 37.9% 26.3% 69.2% 1.5 2.0 0.7 0.2 2.5
2011–12 Saint Joseph's redshirt
2012–13 Saint Joseph's 32 293 38.9% 14.8% 73.6% 4.6 4.4 1.8 0.5 9.2
2013–14 Saint Joseph's 32 368 39.2% 27.4% 71.7% 6.6 7.6 2.0 0.5 11.5
2014–15 Saint Joseph's 30 388 36.8% 35.1% 79.1% 5.9 6.6 1.8 0.4 12.9
Career 125 1125 38.2% 28.6% 74.4% 4.6 5.2 1.6 0.4 9.0

Off the court

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Personal life

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Cloud was married to professional softball player, Aleshia Ocasio. They separated in 2022.[14][15]

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In December 2020, Cloud was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 alongside fellow WNBA players A'ja Wilson and Chiney Ogwumike.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Natasha Cloud Biography". sjuhawks.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Natasha Cloud Biography". umterps.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Natasha Cloud - WNBA". WNBA. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  4. ^ Lee, Albert (July 20, 2016). "Natasha Cloud injures knee". Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  5. ^ "2019 Season Review: Washington Mystics". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  6. ^ "WNBA 2020 season: Jonquel Jones, Liz Cambage, Tina Charles among players sitting out". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  7. ^ "PHOENIX MERCURY SIGNS WNBA CHAMPION NATASHA CLOUD". mercury.wnba.com. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  8. ^ Eurobasket. "Besiktas JK Istanbul Basketball Roster 2015-2016". Eurobasket LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  9. ^ "AU Pro Basketball Player Profile". AU Pro Sports. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  10. ^ @Unrivaledwbb (August 27, 2024). "NATASHA CLOUD IS UNRIVALED👑16/30✅" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Team Roster: Jordan". FIBA.
  12. ^ "Lebanon 80–40 Jordan". FIBA. November 13, 2021.
  13. ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  14. ^ "Natasha Cloud is engaged!". SBNation. July 28, 2019.
  15. ^ Reimer, Alex (March 11, 2021). "Natasha Cloud and Aleshia Ocasio got married". outsports.com. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  16. ^ Ariail, Cat (December 2, 2020). "Natasha Cloud, Chiney Ogwumike and A'ja Wilson named to the 'Forbes 30 Under 30 List'". Swish Appeal. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
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