"She's a nutcase" - Natasha Cloud likens Diana Taurasi’s fierce mentality to Kobe Bryant’s tenacious psyche

Natasha Cloud played with Diana Taurasi in the basketball legend’s final season in the WNBA. Cloud, after spending her first eight seasons with the Washington Mystics, suited up for the Phoenix Mercury in 2024. The feisty guard caught up with Taurasi before she decided to hang up her jersey in the offseason.

In "The Pivot" episode on Friday, Cloud praised her former teammate (59:10 onwards):

“I played with Diana Taurasi. That woman hooped and prepared the same way as Kobe [Bryant] did. She’s a nutcase. And if you don’t meet her standards, she’s in your a** the same as Kobe.”

The Phoenix Mercury legend was a big fan of the LA Lakers because of Kobe Bryant. KB24 once said in an interview that Taurasi approached him to claim that she was 'The White Mamba.' Bryant wholeheartedly agreed because the WNBA superstar had his “temperament.”

Per Natasha Cloud, it wasn’t just the temperament that made Bryant and Taurasi similar. They prepared the same way and played similarly; both were unrelenting in their drive to work on their craft and to win.

The LA Lakers icon played 20 seasons in the NBA, while Taurasi finished her career with 21 seasons of pro basketball, 20 in the WNBA.

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Diana Taurasi and Natasha Cloud lost their final WNBA game together

On September 25, 2024, Diana Taurasi took the court for her final game in the WNBA. Although no one, including Taurasi herself, knew it would be her last time to wear the Phoenix Mercury jersey. She played 30 minutes and contributed 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal.

Natasha Cloud, who started in the backcourt with Taurasi, added 16 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and one steal. The Mercury also got a boost from Brittney Griner, another former fixture in Phoenix, who had 24 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

Despite their impressive numbers, they could not stop the Minnesota Lynx from sweeping them in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. Minnesota won Game 1 102-95 despite a 33-point, 10-assist and 6-rebound night from Cloud. The Lynx could not be denied in Game 2 behind Napheesa Collier’s 42 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Natasha Cloud and Diana Taurasi’s final game together ended in a disappointing loss, but the former can’t say enough about the latter’s greatness.