For the modern athlete, one of the blessings of the social media era is the ability to control the narrative.
That is exactly what helps explain the partnership between Indiana Fever forward Natasha Howard and EssentiallySports. During WNBA All-Star 2025 in Indianapolis, Howard has leveraged her media talents into being an “athlete correspondent” for the company, writing and producing content on anything and everything having to do with the weekend.
Howard is a three-time WNBA champion (2017, 2018,
2020) who was recently named the MVP of the Commissioner’s Cup Championship when the Fever defeated the Minnesota Lynx. In that game, she scored 16 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, gave out four assists and had two steals. This season, Howard is averaging 11.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for the 12-11 Fever.
MVP.
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) July 2, 2025
Natasha Howard is our UNANIMOUS Commissioner’s Cup MVP pic.twitter.com/PP4L9097NC
On Friday, Howard took part in a Jam Sessions Event hosted by Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment in Indianapolis. She talked about her life and career in a conversation with Josh Harwell of EssentiallySports. In an email interview with Swish Appeal, Harwell said of the partnership:
With WNBA being one of the most consumed sports on EssentiallySports, we knew we wanted to do something big at the WNBA All-Star Game—and who better than a veteran, champion and [Commissioner’s Cup] MVP like Natasha Howard to partner with. We were introduced to her and her team, and immediately knew it was a great fit. We are fortunate enough to have some great behind the scenes content coming out, following Natasha around her busy day of brand and fan activations.
Based on the conversation he had with Howard, Harwell foresees her naturally entering into media and content creation, telling Swish Appeal, “Natasha has the capacity to do whatever she wants—she is a professional through and through—but something tells me she has some more hooping to do before she is ready to move on to media!”
One-on-one with @Thoward_6 drops soon. An instant classic incoming! pic.twitter.com/JGHQdv0n0r
— EssentiallySports (@ES_sportsnews) July 19, 2025
He also elaborated on the importance of having Howard partner with EssentiallySports, emphasizing:
EssentiallySports couldn’t be happier with our relationship with Natasha. Not only is she a proven winner and leader, but she is so authentic—and that is one of the most important things when it comes to athlete content and partnerships. The fans have been loving seeing her personality shine through this weekend, and we can’t wait to show fans all the content that we have been shooting with her!
At a time when the WNBA and women’s sports is growing by leaps and bounds, partnerships such as these meet the moment.
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