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INDIANAPOLIS – The WNBA sent out shockwaves earlier this month when it was revealed that Philadelphia would be the recipient of a new WNBA expansion team by 2030. The reveal came on the heels of previously announced teams, but plans to add teams in Philadelphia and Detroit had not yet been made public. Over WNBA All-Star Weekend, New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud and Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, both with Philadelphia ties, spoke on WNBA expansion with Cloud giving a hilarious quip about potentially switching teams.
During a media availability session as she was set to compete in the Skills Challenge over All-Star Weekend, Natasha Cloud remarked how she’s been asked if she wants to go home and play for the new Philadelphia WNBA expansion team, and she made it clear that she’s perfectly happy playing where she is.
“I’m really excited for my city. Everyone keeps asking if I’m going home. I’m very happy as a New York Liberty, so I’d just like to put out that statement,” Natasha Cloud joked. “But I’m really, really happy for the city of Philadelphia, I’m very happy for our league when we continue to expand, and I’m really happy for the next generation of women that aren’t going to have to fight to be part of the 144.”
During her high school career, Cloud was one of the top players in the Philadelphia area. She starred at Cardinal O’Hara High School where she was named to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AAAAA First Team All-State as a senior.
She initially committed to Maryland where she played two years of college basketball, before coming home to Saint Joseph’s for her final seasons of college basketball eligibility. In her final season at Saint Joesph’s, she was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Team and All-Defensive Team. For her, the Philadelphia team is a dream come true.
“As a young girl, that’s all I dreamed of was a team being in Philly. And so I’m just really excited not only for our league expanding, but obviously biased I’m really excited for my hometown,” Cloud said. “I’ve been in a lot of cities where there’s NBA teams and football teams, but I truly believe that women’s teams being in the city truly heals.”
“It helps to nurture, it helps to care, it helps to bring people together,” Cloud continued. “And then you get to watch some dope a** basketball and some bad a** women on the court.”
In addition to Cloud, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve is another key figure who is excited about the incoming Philadelphia WNBA expansion team. Reeve isn’t a native of Philadelphia like Cloud, but she grew up in nearby New Jersey having starred at Washington Township High School. And her Philadelphia ties stem from her first coaching job as an assistant at La Salle.
“I think more and more cities are really for women’s sports in general. And I’m just excited that Philly is such a great sports city. The passion they have and they’re putting their weight behind a team, I think it’s going to be really impactful for the area and for the growth,” Reeve said. “I think the WNBA coming to the area is going to do even more in the overall growth of young girls that now come to the games. . .when you actually can come to the games versus maybe finding a way to consume it not in person.”
“The impact I see at Minnesota, the impact of having the team in your area is going to be directly related to the growth of girls playing younger,” Reeve continued. “The talent develops younger, and then the area as a whole, it’s already a good area, but as a while we’re going to see a big jump in its growth.”
