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Mechelle VoepelespnW.com
FAIRFAX, Va. – Natasha Howard has been a reserve at the WNBA finals in the past three seasons. This year, she played a leading role. Howard had a career-high 29 points, plus 14 rebounds, in Seattle Storm's 98-82 win over the Washington Mystics in Game 3 on Wednesday.
He did a sweep for the Storm, who knows he could not have done it without the 6-foot-2 post-player. Howard has been the most improved player in the league this season, thanks in part to her chance to play Seattle. She came off the bench for Indiana in 2015 and for Minnesota in 2016 and in '17.
A February exchange sent him to a franchise that needed his exact skill set. And her experience with the Fever and Lynx at previous WNBA finals showed how much she has played throughout the year for the Storm.
After 13.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in the regular season, she averaged 15.8 PPGs and 8.3 RPGs in all eight Seattle playoff games.
"Natasha Howard, what an incredible story for me," said Seattle coach Dan Hughes. "The way she realized this opportunity, and what she did and how she mixed up with this basketball team."
Howard is from Toledo, Ohio, and Hughes was an assistant coach at the University of Toledo when Howard's father played there. When he was coaching at San Antonio, Hughes always hoped that he could meet mentor Howard, who played a college role at Florida State and was later drafted No. 5 by Indiana in 2014.
But it did not seem like it would happen when Hughes retired after the 2016 season. The chance to return in 2018 with a champion-caliber team was something Hughes could not let pass. It meant becoming a coach of a seasoned leader like Sue Bird, a MVP star like Breanna Stewart, and finally a player like Howard, who had so much potential to be realized.
"I think Natasha Howard is the biggest difference between their team last year and this year on the field," said Mystics coach Mike Thibault. "Defensively, they had a better identity this year.
"She was the perfect complement to Breanna Stewart, both of whom have learned to play each other, they are both active and mobile, and Natasha Howard is willing to get on the set, move and cut." "
Stewart agreed that Howard has made things easier for her this season.
"Just the fact that she's so versatile," Stewart said. "She helped me relieve the pressure." Last year and the year before, it was: "You have to keep the best player from the other team and try to score more than 20 points. "To bring her in, we could relieve each other. [Elena] Delle Donne, and if she's tired, I can do it. "
"I think Natasha Howard is the biggest difference between [the Storm] last year and this year on the ground. … She was the perfect complement to Breanna Stewart. Both learned to play with each other. "
Mike Thibault, Mystics Coach
Howard said she learned a lot as a bench player, but she was ready to play a bigger role. She became the third WNBA player to win consecutive championships with different teams.
"The opportunity I had with Minnesota," said Howard, "playing behind great players, learning behind some Olympians and bringing him to Seattle, has helped our team a lot with my experience."
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