NatashaHoward

News: 1 hour agoHoward (overseas commitment) isn't listed on the injury report ahead of Friday's exhibition against the Tempo.

Spin: Howard has missed both of Minnesota's preseason matchups up to this point while fulfilling an overseas commitment, but she's since joined the team and should be available to take the court Friday night. The Lynx may elect to ease her into action in her first game of the preseason, so it's unclear as to how many minutes she'll handle.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Howard became a fantasy stalwart during her time with New York and Dallas, but she showed signs of decline in her second stint with Indiana a year ago for her age-34 campaign. She averaged 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 24.1 minutes per game across 44 regular-season appearances in 2025 but connected on 55.2 percent of her field-goal attempts Howard's averages were her lowest since the truncated 2020 season, when she helped lead the Storm to a WNBA championship, but her shooting efficiency was her best since 2016 with Minnesota. Howard's splits were relatively similar with and without Caitlin Clark in the lineup during 2025, but she did lose out on plenty of usage to Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell. Howard signed a two-year contract with the Lynx during the offseason and should play a prominent role in Minnesota's frontcourt, especially since Napheesa Collier is expected to miss at least the first month of the regular season.