Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wasted no time poking fun at her star player, fresh off an 85-75 victory over the Chicago Sky. She casually dropped that Natasha Howard, her frontcourt anchor, sets the most illegal screens in the league. Pick-and-roll is as much an art in basketball. For Reeve, a pick-and-roll purist, Howard’s illegal screens are a running joke.

“She’s [Natasha Howard] just a terrific [pick-and] roller,” Reeve said in her post-game presser. “We have to work on her screening, apparently, you know. She sets the most illegal screens in the league.”

In basketball, a screen is considered illegal when the screener is still moving at contact, sticks out their hip, knee, elbow, or arm to impede the defender, leans into the defender, or moves to chase the defender and maintain the block.

However, there is no official stat for illegal screens. In fact, the NBA and WNBA do not track illegal screens as a recorded statistic. What Reeve had to say was merely an opinion. And no, Natasha Howard might not even have the most illegal screens in the league.

Howard’s 26 points and 14 rebounds proved her value despite the screening critique. Also, if you look at the game replay, Howard’s “illegal screens” were one of the reasons the Lynx closed out so well. Sometimes, one’s got to pull out some tricks from their sleeves that could very well come to their advantage.

If we were to take Cheryl Reeve’s comments into account, we would need to focus specifically on the role Howard plays for the team in 2026. With Napheesa Collier being out and Dorka Juhász injured, Howard’s frontcourt role is elevated. Evidently, this bigger role is now working out in Minnesota’s favor.

Reeve’s roster design reveals why the screening comment lands as affection, not criticism. She built this roster with Howard and Olivia Miles in mind, specifically as a pick-and-roll duo. Reeve designed the offense around Howard’s rolling ability, which clearly seems like a master plan waiting to pan out successfully as the season progresses.

Howard returned to finish her career under Reeve, a coach who understands her game. This is exactly why she can say something like this at the podium, and this would land as affection rather than criticism.

Why did Natasha Howard return to Minnesota from Indiana?

Natasha Howard has a knack for coming back to teams she has played in. On April 12, it was announced that the veteran forward had signed a two-year, $1.4 million deal with the Minnesota Lynx, ending her second stint with the Indiana Fever. Her stint in Indiana was nothing short of impressive.

She started all 44 games for the Fever last season and was a key contributor to their Commissioner’s Cup title and playoff semifinal run. Ironically, Indiana defeated the Lynx in the Commissioner’s Cup final, just months before Howard finally returned.

Howard didn’t fit well with Fever centerpiece Caitlin Clark, as many might have noticed. She could not spread the floor with shooting and didn’t have great hands to catch Clark’s dimes. She also didn’t fit well in the transition-heavy offense, which often felt stuck whenever she had the ball. Finally, she had the second-highest salary on the roster. To bring Sophie Cunningham back with freed cap space, it was necessary to let go of Howard.

At this point, Howard isn’t chasing rings or a bigger market. She already has three championships to her name, including one with Minnesota. Returning to the Lynx may have made sense. She reunited with Cheryl Reeve and her former Lynx teammates Lindsay Whalen, Janel McCarville, and Rebekkah Brunson, who are now part of Reeve’s coaching unit.

“I just told myself that I want to be coached by a good coach that understands me, that understands my game,” Howard told the Minnesota Star Tribune. If Howard wins another championship with Minnesota, she’ll have earned recognition from the basketball world.