How Liberty's Natasha Cloud Leads a Locker Room
Leadership can show up in different ways inside a locker room. Sometimes it's quiet and steady, sometimes it's loud and unmistakable. For New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud, it's a mix of both.
Over time, Cloud has developed a reputation around the WNBA as someone whose presence is felt the moment she steps on the floor. Some of it shows up in the obvious ways—calling out coverages, directing teammates through a possession—but just as often it's the energy she brings to the sideline or the huddle. What makes Cloud effective isn't simply how loudly she speaks, but how deliberately she connects with the people around her.
At shootaround before Phantom BC's matchup with Hive BC, Cloud was rarely still. She moved from drill to drill, talking through defensive coverages, pointing younger teammates to the right spots, and occasionally checking in with coaches about a detail in the play. It was loud or dramatic. It was simply Cloud doing what she's known for —making sure everyone around her understood what needed to happen next.
Cloud approaches communication differently than many leaders. It's less about directing people and more about connecting with them—something teammates in both Unrivaled and with the New York Liberty say they've come to appreciate.
Meeting Teammates Where They Are
When I asked about how she connects with players who bring different personalities to a locker room, Cloud said the approach is intentional.
"It's very intentional," she explained. "Understand the importance of how each player is on roster from the franchise player—I hate to even use this word—to your last-of-the-bench player. Connecting with them is intentional, so how you're able to deposit into them, now I'm able to withdraw from them what I need on the court."
For Cloud, leadership starts with making sure everyone feels valued.
"You have to have the ability to be seen, to be valued," she added. "It's that locker-room leadership and overall value of people in that locker room."
Former New York Liberty and current Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello echoed that sentiment when I spoke with her about Natasha's leadership style.
"Tash leads with an abundance of energy which is contagious," Brondello said. "She loves to compete and she loves to have fun"
Brondello also noted how Cloud's personality often helped bring quieter players out of their shells. She went on to add, "Marine Johannes and Rebekah Gardner were the most impacted." Both guards play alongside Natasha Cloud on the Liberty.
"What you see is what you got," she added. "She liked to have fun in the locker room, but once she got on the court, she was very competitive and focused."
The Impact That Teammates Remember
Talking with players who shared a locker room with Cloud, the same words kept coming up: energy, encouragement, and consistency. Teammates described a leader who shows up the same every day—someone whose presence naturally pulls people together.
When I asked Brittney Sykes about Cloud's impact, the former Mystics teammate pointed to something more personal — the way Cloud helped her grow more comfortable speaking up during difficult moments.
"The biggest thing I took from her was finding my voice, and being okay with being heard in those tough spaces," Sykes said. "Tash was really, really good at being that person for me, especially when I couldn't articulate myself in the game."
In a separate conversation, her former Mystics teammate Shakira Austin said Cloud's energy had a way of spreading throughout the team.
"She brings a unique energy, setting the tone for wanting to win ,and you know that's just contagious throughout the team," Austin said. "Where you have quiet players or people who are more vocal, Tash brings her consistent energy and it was something we could depend on."
A Leader in Every Locker Room
That same leadership has been visible with Phantom BC in the second season of Unrivaled. Cloud is the lone returning active player from the team's inaugural roster, a role that naturally placed her at the center of a new group still building chemistry.
Current Phantom BC teammate forward Kiki Iriafen told me she noticed Cloud's leadership even before they became teammates.
"I'm really excited that I'm teammates with Tash," Iriafen said. "During my rookie year with the Mystics, when we played the Liberty, she came up to myself and Sonia Citron and just encouraged us. She would just tell us that we're doing a good job. As a competitor that spoke a lot about her."
Now that they share a locker room, Iriafen sees that same authenticity every day.
"Tash has no filter; she doesn't try to sugarcoat anything," Iriafen said. "Off the court, she's a ray of sunshine, and on the court she's super passionate, and she's consistently herself."
Perspective Behind Cloud's Energy
When asked where that energy comes from, Cloud pointed to perspective.
"I approach every day with excitement and appreciation for life," she said. "I feel very blessed because some people didn't make it to this age. Because man life is miserable if you allow darkness to overtake you."
That outlook helped guide Phantom BC through a deep run this season. With Cloud serving as one of the leaders, Phantom made its way to the championship game before ultimately falling to Mist BC, led by Unrivaled co-founder and Cloud's New York Liberty teammate forward Breanna Stewart.
Even without the title, the culture Phantom built along the way reflected the leadership Cloud brought into the locker room every day — energy, honesty, and the kind of presence teammates have learned to rely on.
Deadria is a contributing writer for On SI, covering the Chicago Sky and bringing thoughtful, in-depth coverage of the WNBA. They also write The Shot Clock Corner, a Substack dedicated to the Washington Mystics, WNBL, and WNBA where their work blends analysis, story telling, and a deep appreciation for the women’s game. Deadria captures the moments that define the game and the players who shape it.