Back at full strength, the three-time champion is set to join a New York teammate at the All-Star festivities in Chicago.
The 2022 WNBA All-Star Game is getting a double dose of Liberty.
New York Liberty forward Natasha Howard was among the dozen names revealed on Tuesday as reserves for the coming exhibition on July 8 in Chicago, where she’ll join starter and fellow metropolitan representative Sabrina Ionescu.
“Natasha is incredibly deserving of this All-Star honor,” said Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello in a team statement. “Her consistency on both ends of the floor has been key for us this season, and we’re very proud to have her represent the Liberty in Chicago.”
The 12-player group unveiled on Tuesday (voted upon by the league’s dozen head coaches) will be part of a draft pool for two fantasy-style teams. Sue Bird and A’ja Wilson will pick one team while Sylvia Fowles and Breanna Stewart will captain the other. Howard could be one of the most-sought after draftees considering that she previously won a pair of WNBA titles with both Bird and Stewart in Seattle (2018, 2020).
The Florida State alumna is in the midst of her second season in New York and has played a major role in the Liberty’s in-season resurgence. She currently paces the Liberty with 6.8 rebounds a game and is the second-leading scorer at 15.2 point behind only Ionescu.
Howard was brought to New York through a three-team deal that also welcomed in reserve shooter Sami Whitcomb. Injuries ate away at her debut season in seafoam, but she has since taken on a starring role in the wake of long-term injuries to several regular contributors (including 2021 All-Star Betnijah Laney).
“My body feels really good. I’m healthier, stronger than last season,” Howard told BaselineSportsNY.com earlier this month. “It feels so good to be on the floor for my team this season. We still got more games to go, but we’re not going to let injuries ruin our team. we’ll just keep building and building until that playoff time.”
“She can shoot the three, she’s athletic, she’s got great hands,” Liberty teammate Bec Allen said of Howard following a May game against Minnesota. “She can create a lot for our offense.”
Since a 1-7 start, the Liberty (8-10) have fought their way back into the WNBA playoff picture with a 7-3 mark in June. Howard has been at the forefront in the revolution alongside Ionescu, averaging 16.8 points and 6.9 rebounds over this lucrative stretch.
Howard is set to make her second appearance in the WNBA All-Star Game, having previously repped the Storm in 2019. That contest in Las Vegas was also the last All-Star Game to feature multiple New Yorkers, as Tina Charles and Kia Nurse each played for a team captained by Elena Delle Donne.
The Chicago Sky, the defending WNBA champions and hosts of the All-Star festivities, emerged as the big winners of Tuesday’s reveals with three reserves. Kahleah Copper, Emma Meeseman, and Courtney Vandersloot will join starter Candance Parker. Rhyne Howard, the Rookie of the Year frontrunner from Atlanta, is the only first-time All-Star amongst the reserves though she’ll make her debut alongside starters Ionescu and Las Vegas duo Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young.
Elsewhere among the reserves, Phoenix’s Skylar Diggins-Smith is set to make her sixth appearance while Jewell Loyd (Seattle) and Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut) will respectively make their fourth and third exhibitions. The list is rounded out by Ariel Atkins (Washington), Dearica Hamby (Las Vegas), Brionna Jones (Connecticut), and Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas), all of whom will be making their second showing each.
The Liberty will look to close June on the right note on Thursday when they battle the Atlanta Dream at Barclays Center (7 p.m. ET, YES App/Twitter).
Main Image: Evan Yu/NBAE via Getty Images
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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