It can be hard to decide whether Natasha Howard’s journey to Indianapolis is better described as a 360 or a 180.
On the one hand, she finally returned this winter to the Fever, the franchise where she began her professional career, reuniting with a familiar coach and with the executive who originally drafted her. But on the other, none of those entities are the same as they were the first time around. And neither is Howard.
“It feels good to be back,” she says. “But I guess everything is completely changed.”
The 33-year-old forward was a key piece of the Fever’s offseason makeover. The franchise overhauled its roster and staff in hopes of building a contender around Caitlin Clark, whose arrival last year changed just about everything for the franchise, including its timeline for championship aspirations. Howard offered exactly the kind of defensive presence and experience the organization wanted—which the front office knew quite well. It had been the one to draft her back in 2014.
Howard spent the last nine seasons playing elsewhere across the WNBA after being traded to the Lynx in 2016. Those years saw her build a career in which she was named first Most Improved Player, then Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time All-Star. She won three championships with two different teams (Lynx in ’17, Storm in ’18 and ’20). The experiences molded her into just what the Fever were looking for in 2025. They needed someone who made for a compelling presence in the paint while still being nimble enough to run the floor and help them push the pace. (Howard’s nickname is “Flash” for a reason.) And the team needed someone who could be a resource and model for its younger post players.
“She wants to produce and deliver as a player, but she also wants to help and mentor the next player,” says Fever president of basketball and business operations Kelly Krauskopf. “You have that combination, and man, that’s special.”
The potential felt especially striking in terms of its opportunities for a player like Aliyah Boston. The No. 1 pick in 2023, Boston won Rookie of the Year and was also named an All-Star in each of her first two seasons with the Fever. But for her to unlock the next level of her development, Indiana felt she needed to be paired with someone more dynamic in the post, a player with the ability to create more space for her and let her showcase more varied skills beyond simply posting up. And on a roster that had been notably young in Boston’s first two seasons, with very little frontcourt veteran leadership specifically, the Fever wanted this to be one area that got an upgrade. “The theme of our offseason was more experience,” says general manager Amber Cox, who previously worked alongside Howard in Dallas. The executive was confident she was the right player to provide that now in Indiana.
Howard was explicit during free agency about her desire to provide mentorship. She’d benefitted so much from it herself during the early years of her career in Indiana: Fever legend Tamika Catchings had been among her favorite players to watch as a teenager. Getting drafted to Indiana in time for the opportunity to play alongside the Hall of Famer before she retired felt like an incredible blessing. “Without her input and guiding me, helping me out, I wouldn’t be the player that I am right now,” Howard says. She was open about how much she wanted to pay that forward in the same organization where it started for her.
“I'm going to do my best to power everything into her that other players poured into me,” Howard says of Boston. “Whatever she needs, I'm going to be there.”
The first two games of the season have shown how this new lineup might ultimately play out on the floor. There are growing pains as this upgraded roster comes together and learns its style and speed. (With an emphasis on the latter: The biggest adjustment Howard might need to make is learning just how quickly to anticipate a full-court pass from Clark.) But there are also plenty of areas where the difference from last year has been obvious from the jump. Boston’s scorching start has included more ballhandling and freedom in showing what she can do away from the basket—which is made easier by the inside presence of Howard. The defense has looked far more cohesive and better able to navigate switches than it did last season.
Howard has not been shy about her ultimate goal here. She has three rings already. But she wants (at least) one more, and she wants it in Indianapolis, specifically.
“You would think she’d be like, I’m good,” Krauskopf says. “Nope. She wants to do it at the place she got drafted.”
Howard’s first career trip to the Finals came with the Fever in 2015. They lost in five games to the Lynx. “I still have a chip on my shoulder about that,” Howard says. Their coach that season was former Fever player and staff assistant Stephanie White—then in her first season with a head coaching gig. Much like Howard, White spent most of the following years developing her skills and building her résumé elsewhere, and much like Howard, she returned this winter to build a contender. “She’s more on her toes,” Howard laughs of the difference between her coach then and now. They’ve both come full circle. And they hope to bring the franchise somewhere new.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Natasha Howard Is Back Where It Began, Ready to Take the Fever Somewhere New .