From 'Cloud 9' to 'Agent 0': Natasha Cloud arrives in the Valley with a wealth of experience
Cloud signed with the Mercury as a free agent in February. She comes to Phoenix having won a WNBA Championship in 2019 and having been the league's assists leader and all-defensive first team in 2022.
Formerly known as “Cloud 9,” you can now refer to her by her new nickname, “Agent 0.”
Natasha Cloud brings championship pedigree to the Valley after eight seasons with the Washington Mystics. The point guard signed with the Phoenix Mercury as a free agent in February after winning a WNBA Championship in 2019 and being the league's assists leader and all-defensive first team in 2022.
A second-round pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft, Cloud averaged 12.7 points, 6.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 37 games last season for the Mystics.
Cloud also brings 30 games of postseason experience to the Mercury. The point guard joins a team that already features former WNBA champions Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner and a team that also added Kahleah Copper, the 2021 WNBA Finals MVP when the Chicago Sky defeated the Mercury.
“We all have that championship experience, which ultimately, that’s what you want on your team is to have that experience and to be able to fall back on it and what it means to get there,” Cloud said.
“Each of us have been there and that’s a special thing when you have like-minded people that understand what it takes and understand that we want to get back to that position,” Cloud continued.
“I think the biggest thing that we all talked about in this free agency is just we’re in a different mindset in our careers where it’s just about winning. It’s about peace, both on and off the court, as much as you can have. Obviously, in a season there is going to be adversity along the way. To be surrounded by people that you enjoy being around every single day is important. The culture in our locker room is important. With that championship experience, we want to be able to bounce off of one another of what it means to get back to that point. I am excited to be around winners and I’m excited to be around people that are hungry to win.”
But Cloud isn’t just looking to win in Phoenix. She also wants to continue to grow as a leader and says she feels like leadership is her job as a point guard.
“I’m an extension of the coach in a lot of ways on the floor,” Cloud said. “For me personally, that’s the biggest thing in this next chapter of my career that I want to prove to myself is that I am the leader that I think I am. I can lead on the court. I believe I’m the engine behind the team. I’m going to try to be that in every single way.”
Now in her ninth WNBA season, this chapter looks a lot different for Cloud from a coaching standpoint with new head coach Nate Tibbetts.
Cloud had only played under Mike Thibault and later Mike’s son Eric while at Washington. Mike coached in the WNBA for 20 seasons and retired after the 2022 season with the record as the WNBA’s winningest coach with 379 regular season wins (and 34 playoff games won). Mike and Cloud won a championship together in 2019.
Meanwhile, Tibbetts coached his first regular-season professional women’s game on Tuesday.
But what sets Tibbetts apart, who has more than a decade of experience as an NBA assistant, is that Cloud said this is the first time she’s had a players’ coach in her WNBA career.
“He is amazing,” Cloud said about Tibbetts. “He motivates you. Every time he talks, I always end up leaving being like, ‘I want to run through a f ------ wall for you.’ That’s how passionate I am about it and about Coach Nate and about his ability to lead us back to what this dynasty should be. He’s tough, he’s relentless, he sets a standard and an expectation that I haven’t seen before. Being able to call out (Diana Taurasi) and (Brittney Griner) and me the same as you do a rookie that doesn't tend to happen in this league. A standard gets set, an expectation is set and he really is leading the ship and when you have a coach that will run through a wall for you, you want to run through the wall for them too.”
Another way Cloud and Tibbetts have made their unique mark on this Mercury team is through their unique style of play.
On Tuesday, the Mercury made 15 3-pointers on 36 attempts.
“That’s pretty good, 36. We want to be 35-40 threes, that’s the style that we’re gonna play,” Tibbetts said. “We’ve got people that can get downhill and we need to kick (to) the shooters. (Taurasi) had a big night seven threes. I think that’s one off her career high so really good start for her.”
According to Across the Timeline, 35-40 3-pointers attempted per game would be a WNBA record by a significant margin. No team has ever averaged more than 30 3-point attempts per game and the previous high mark was set by the 2023 New York Liberty who averaged 29.7 attempts per game.
Last season, the Mercury attempted 20.7 3-pointers per game and averaged 6.8 makes.
The Mercury shot 47% of their field goals from 3-point range on Tuesday. The WNBA record over an entire regular season is 42%, which was also set by the 2023 Liberty, also per Across the Timeline.
Of Taurasi’s eight made field goals on Tuesday, seven were from beyond the arc.
“Coach has directions for us to shoot threes,” Taurasi said.
Taurasi went 7-for-11 from deep on Tuesday. Over her career, she’s averaged 7.1 attempts per game and has never averaged more than the 9.0 attempts per game she averaged in 2006.
Tibbetts said the 3-point shooting from Tuesday will carry on and be part of the team’s identity moving forward.
“Yeah, that's the goal,” Tibbetts said. “You know, it's kind of how the team has been built. And I think our players are excited to play that way.”
Cloud had 14 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in Tuesday’s 89-80 season-opening loss to the Las Vegas Aces.
Before Tuesday’s game, Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon said, “I’m a big Natasha Cloud fan.”
Cloud went 1-for-6 from three on Tuesday but she said improving her perimeter shooting has been a lot of her focus over the last two years.
“I want to continue to grow,” Cloud said. “I think that’s been my biggest individual goals every offseason is to continue to get better in the areas that are my weak points. Perimeter shooting has been something that I’ve had to be more consistent on and that’s been a lot of my focuses over the last two years.”
A career 30.8% 3-point shooter, Cloud has averaged 3.1 attempts per game from beyond the arc in her career.
“That's our identity,” Cloud said about the Mercury’s volume of 3-point shooting. “That's who we're going to be all season long. The goal is 35 to 40 threes a game, we either want to get to the rim, or we want to shoot threes. And that's just the commitment that we're making that's falling on us to get the shots up. And they're allowing us to kind of just shoot freely and so again, it's exciting.”
Not only has Cloud made her mark in the league with her presence on the court, but she’s also been influential off the court and in the community. Cloud is known for her activism and sat out the 2020 season for that reason after having won a title in 2019.
“But leadership is so important both on and off the court,” Cloud said. “And I think you see that a lot not only in my point guard leadership but in my activism as well off the court. To be a leader in my community but more so to be assertive to my community to others.”
Since she arrived in the Valley, Cloud’s Mercury teammates have taken notice of who Cloud is as a player and as a person. Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham had kind words about what Cloud brings to the group.
“She is the bee’s knees,” Cunningham said about Cloud. “Tash is freaking awesome, man. Her energy, there is no one like Tash. She’s fast, she knows the game, she’s actually been a great leader. I think she’s been our best leader so far of just communicating on what she sees on the court, what she sees off the court and just making sure we’re all good. But at the end of the day, I just think she just has a great energy.”
Taurasi also spoke highly of both Cloud the person and Cloud the player.
“I don’t think we’ve added two players that change our program as much as Tash and (Copper) have already,” Taurasi said. “There is not a lot of people that change everything about your team the minute they step into the gym, without even touching a basketball. (Cloud’s) energy, her competitive fire, the way she treats people, the way she cares about every single individual on the team. It’s all the things that make you a great player. On the court, she just is going to bring this competitive spirit to both ends of the court and it’s gonna raise the level of everyone on the court.”
Cloud wore No. 9 in Washington and used the combination of her last name and number as a way to grow her brand. Her Instagram username is even “@t__cloud9,” but when Cloud arrived in Phoenix, No. 9 was already taken. Cunningham has worn No. 9 for the Mercury since 2019.
But Cloud and the Mercury came up with a creative idea.
On Thursday, the Mercury announced fans will be able to buy a Cloud jersey at any home game and customize it with a cloud on the back.
“Yeah, I mean, nine was a huge part of my career and my marketing, but obviously coming in, that's Sophie’s number she’s been here for five years,” Cloud said. “So new chapter, new number. Zero was the closest thing that I could get to a cloud and just trying to market it for myself as a player. And Agent Zero, I'm gonna give it to (Gilbert Arenas). That's his thing. But I think there can be an Agent Zero of the W and I'm gonna try to take that title on and really do him some justice from the women's side.”
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