Sep 19, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud (9) dribbles against the Phoenix Mercury during the first half of game three of round one for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at PHX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Liberty Star Guard Returns to Unrivaled

Originally posted on New York Liberty on SI
By Geoff Magliocchetti | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 3:07 PM ET

The forecast for the second season of Unrivaled will at least be partly cloudy thanks to the return of another New York Liberty standout.

The domestic three-on-three league co-founded by seafoam savant Breanna Stewart — whose reprisal was confirmed yesterday — will welcome back Natasha Cloud to the fold when its second season tips off in South Beach in January. Cloud is fresh off her first season in Brooklyn after an offseason trade with the Connecticut Sun.

Known for her voice both on and off the floor, Cloud had been a target of Liberty brass ever since she and Sabrina Ionescu put up a brilliant backcourt battle during the opening round of the 2023 playoffs, which served as the St. Joseph's alumna and Philadelphia-area native's final showings during her tenured career with the Washington Mystics before she spent last year with the Phoenix Mercury.

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Fan calls for Cloud to come to Brooklyn hit a fever pitch when she and Ionescu were assigned to Phantom BC in Unrivaled, which staged its debut showing in South Beach last winter. Originally traded to Connecticut as part of the multi-pronged deal that sent triple-double queen and another Unrivaled returnee Alyssa Thomas to the desert.

Liberty brass eventually obliged by sending two first-round picks (2025 and 2026) to Connecticut in exchange for her services. Cloud, who won the WNBA Skills Challenge during All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis (sweeping the Saturday portion with teammate and Three-Point Contest champion Sabrina Ionescu), put up 10.1 points and 5.1 assists a game in her maiden metropolitan voyage, which ended with a first-round loss to the Phoenix Mercury in last week's postseason activities.

The brainchild of Stewart and 2024 Liberty Finals foe Napheesa Collier, Unrivaled has begun the rollout for its 2026 season, which will tip off in January, revealing its 48-woman roster in a process that will run through next week.

In addition to Cloud, the latest reveals include two-time WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award winner Dearica Hamby (currently stationed with the Los Angeles Sparks) as well as expansion heroines Veronica Burton and Kate Martin. Burton is the newly-crowned winner of the Most Improved Player Award, a title previously earned by Liberty All-Star and Unrivaled alum Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.

This article first appeared on New York Liberty on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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