NaLyssa Smith started at the four for the 2024 Fever, and Smith is certainly skilled. But her best abilities didn’t quite fit with Indiana’s style as Smith’s skills are more center-like. That led to Smith’s minutes decreasing throughout the season. Temi Fagbenle and Damiris Dantas, backups for last year’s team, have skills more in line with what the power forward position requires in the WNBA — especially on a team led by Caitlin Clark — but they both missed about half of the 2024 season due to injuries. The Fever’s lack of consistency at the position would last until their Round 1 loss to the Connecticut Sun.
This year, they hope that things will be different. Their first major free agency signing was Natasha Howard, a two-time All-Star and accomplished defender. She’s someone who can fill the gaps that last year’s Fever felt, and Howard hopes to be the missing link for her new team. Howard, an 11-year vet who has earned All-WNBA honors before, has high standards for her 12th season and has a chance to be an important piece for Indiana.
“One thing for me, I actually want to win MVP,” Howard began when discussing her goals at media day. “Getting MVP and also Defensive Player of the Year. And at the end, just holding that [championship] trophy.”
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Those are lofty goals. Howard hasn’t earned those honors since 2019. But she believes in herself, and the Indiana Fever are theoretically a great fit for what she provides. It’s become clear that the new-look group will focus on up-tempo play with good perimeter shooting and improved defense.
Howard, on paper, fits right in. She’s a willing shooter for a frontcourt player, though her accuracy has dipped the last two seasons. On a Fever team with more capable shot creators, her percentage should jump. In the open floor, Howard can really move and force mismatches in transition. Her passing has improved throughout her career. If Howard is supposed to shoot, run and keep the ball moving, then she’s on the right team.
Defensively, her length and speed are key factors. The former All-Defensive team member is a blocks and steals magnet, and those plays will get Clark and company into the open floor. Howard’s one-on-one defense will be important this season as Indiana tries to shed their cellar dweller label when it comes to defensive rating, but Howard’s playmaking on the less glamorous end of the floor will be more important.
“She’s hungry to continue to grow. She was a Defensive Player of the Year in our league at one point in her career,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said. “The biggest thing for Tash is reestablishing that mentality. We’re going to use her in a lot of different ways.”
In the preseason, the Florida State product averaged 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest despite never playing more than 20 minutes in a game. She started all three outings as the Indiana Fever went 3-0, and Howard shot 11/19 from the field (57.9%).
After starting 4-for-11 from the field against the Washington Mystics, Howard settled in nicely for the rest of the tune-up games. The framework of what her on-court value will be, and what positions it could come at (four or five), are more clear. But Howard’s value isn’t limited to just on-court production.
Rather, through training camp and the offseason, her off-court existence was just as necessary. Howard is an All-Star and champion — her voice is being heard. While her relatively quite speaking volume is dwarfed on a young Fever team filled with energy, what she says is loud and well received by her teammates.
Rookie Makayla Timpson, a fellow Florida State alum, noted such earlier this week. “Oh yeah, especially Tash,” the 2025 second-round pick said when asked if any veterans have been particularly valuable for her. Then, Timpson listed a few more teammates before concluding, “They’re good people … they teach me every single day.”
That quiet voice but loud demeanor makes Howard’s teachings stronger. Everyone listens when she has something to say. The Fever were searching for experience in the offseason for this exact reason — they are hoping to bridge from young team to veteran roster. Howard, their first signing, is one of the faces of that.
When Indiana’s season tips off Saturday, Howard’s play could do the talking for her. She will be battling a Chicago Sky team with an effective frontcourt. Her jumper will be important, as it will be all season. But Howard moves better than most at the power forward position, and her defensive history should hold up in most matchups — especially with Aliyah Boston lurking on the back line.
“Tash is a player that everybody really really respects. She’s won. She plays both ends of the ball really, really well,” Clark said of Howard. “She’s a little quieter, but you always feel her presence. I think especially on the defensive end. It seems like every single day in practice, she comes up with big stops.”
Last year with the Dallas Wings, Howard averaged 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. She likely won’t be as featured on offense this year as she was in Dallas, but her scoring ability is obvious. Her efficiency has stayed roughly the same at various levels of volume in the last half decade.
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Simply being a natural four will be huge for the Indiana Fever. Last year, Fagbenle was the closest thing to a typical power forward on the roster, and the team functioned better with her on the floor. Per pbpstats, the Fever had a +1.09 net rating with Fagbenle on the floor compared to -4.96 when he was on the bench. That five-plus point swing was obvious just from watching games.
Fagbenle is now with Golden State after being selected in the expansion draft, but Howard could match her speed and defense while adding more shooting. That player type was important last year for Indiana, and Howard could make that a repeat reality this season.
“It’s being the snake of the defense. Just communicating, being that extra push for our team. We need a stop? I’m going to get that stop for our team,” Howard said of her shift in defensive ability since her Defensive Player of the Year honor. She has confidence in her day-in-day-out abilities on that end of the floor and believes she can get back to her previously-elite level. “Absolutely I can. You’re about to see.”
MVP seems quite lofty, but Howard meeting her goals, particularly on defense, and being a steady hand throughout the season could open up so much for the Indiana Fever. They’ve been training to be a versatile, up-tempo group and hope to contend this year. They have high expectations — reaching them will be harder if Howard doesn’t meet her expected impact.
Indiana’s season starts tomorrow. If Natasha Howard has success, the entire team will too.
