BROOKLYN—If anyone knows what Isabelle Harrison has gone through on her path to Brooklyn, it’s New York Liberty teammate Natasha Cloud.
Cloud and Harrison are teammates in more ways than one: the seafoam savants have been dating at least to the point where Cloud was ready to use her winnings from her win in All-Star Weekend’s Skills Challenge on a down payment for a house. That makes Cloud the biggest cheerleader for Harrison, whose WNBA career has endured frequent injury interruption.
“The last few years of her career have been really tough, but to be in a system and an organization that believes in her, that puts her in successful situations [is huge],” Cloud said of Harrison, who has missed three full WNBA seasons due to medical ailments, back in late June. “She’s been ready, she’s been working her [butt] off, so it’s just always good to see her get rewarded.”
Harrison struggled to crack the metropolitan rotation upon her arrival from a comeback season in Chicago but has since found an opportunity with the injury bug reproducing in the post portions of the depth chart. Since June 27, around the time she started getting regular minutes, Harrison ranks eighth in the WNBA in field goal percentage (54.8) and her net rating (8.9) is fourth-best among reserves (min. 10 games, 10 minutes a game).
IZZY IS BACK 👑
Isabelle Harrison poured in a season-high 16 PTS off the bench for the @nyliberty, adding 5 REB, 2 AST, and 2-2 3PM!
Postseason Push presented by @DraftKings pic.twitter.com/qIJBqauM86
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 29, 2025
The rewarding has been rewarding for both sides: Harrison is one of the biggest differences for this Liberty group compared to the last after coming over as a free agent and, ironically and finally, her health has been one of the most welcome developments amidst an injury-riddled campaign.
“I think she has been extremely comfortable,” Jonquel Jones said of Harrison earlier this season. “Coming into our offense and what we’re running, sometimes it’s really hard to learn it, and so it takes a little bit of time … [Harrison] really understands, the expectations, the movements, the ways that they can affect the game … She’s really feeling it, and she understands what we’re trying to do up there, and she’s looking great.”
“I think Izzy has just been a pro’s pro, and really that’s what she brings to this team,” added Breanna Stewart. “When her number is called, she’s ready and whatever she has to give, whether it’s a steal … or coming in and guarding a bigger player, or just the hustle plays, she knows where to be, in the right place, right time, and she reads and reacts to us really, really well.”
The inspiring, if not somewhat macabre, irony of a healthy Harrison rose to premier prevalence on Thursday night night against the Washington Mystics, as her return from a two-week absence in concussion protocol overshadowed an injury report that resembled a starting five featuring Cloud, Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu.
Harrison would lead New York with 16 points while pulling in five rebounds in the 89-63 win, spearheading one of the most dominant efforts of the title defense to date. Of note, over half her scoring tally came in the second quarter that helped stabilize New York after a sloppy opener.
She would cap the frame off with a three-pointer that bounced in before the halftime horn sounded, creating a sizable nine-point advantage that set the tone for the Liberty’s most one-sided victory of the season since June 1’s clobbering of Connecticut.
Her efforts in the victory were enough to land the postgame interview with Tina Cervasio on the local broadcast, one interrupted by fans chanting Harrison’s playful abbreviation of “Izzy” in appreciation. It afforded Harrison a chance to laud her fit in New York for reasons beyond the sterling chemistry created with her fellow bearers of seafoam.
I’m just so appreciative to be here and play for the best fans of the W and I just I feel so welcome coming back, because I felt my presence when I was gone. I want to help this team. I hated being out, I hated not to be on the boards or keeping the defense aside, whatever I needed to do.”
“I think that goes to the way we do our practices, the way we do our lifting program,” Harrison said of her ability to play 20 minutes immediately back from injury. “That’s been huge for me. Our trainers, just have a whole system to make sure that, when you do go out there, you’ll be taken care of when you step off the court. I think that’s what I’ve been missing for a while now in my career. So having that, it’s just no excuse to this.”
Brandon Todd, NY Liberty
“I feel [the fit] on and off the court. When I’m walking my dogs, I hear people come up to me in the street to see me and Tash. In the arena, they’re happy for you. So when you play in front of fans like that, it’s hard not to go hard and just give everything you got.”
With Kayla Thornton and Courtney Vandersloot long gone, Leonie Fiebich having ascended to the starting lineup, and Nyara Sabally’s status up in the air following her breakout in the Finals, Harrison is the partial headliner of a revamped New York second unit that has no doubt been thrust into its share of high-profile situations thanks to all the injuries.
Any and all postseason tallies would be a blessing for Harrison, who has just seven WNBA playoff appearances to date thanks to a combination of her injuries and serving as a de facto centering presence for fledgling contender clubs in Dallas or learning the playoff ropes with a contender like Phoenix. New Yorkers, however, are fully confident that she’ll feel right at home if and when she’s called to check in.
“I think you know what it meant for me to have her back,” lauded Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello, who originally drafted Harrison out of Tennessee with Phoenix in 2015. “What Izzy brings is just her aggression to the rim and then three-point shooting too … We always say everyone has a role here, and your time will come to step up … I’m just really happy how this team just remains together and just worked, and how they played together as a team. I mean, I think that’s good. We had a lot of we had a lot of people out tonight. Now we just got to build on that.”