Rhyne Howard earns first career WNBA All-Defense honor

Sep 5, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard (10) smiles after shooting a three point shot against the Los Angeles Sparks during the first quarter at Gateway Center Arena at College Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Rhyne Howard easily had her best season yet as a pro in 2025. The former Kentucky women’s basketball star added another significant accolade to prove it.

On Wednesday afternoon, the WNBA released its two All-Defense Teams for the current season. Howard was tabbed as one of five players to make the Second Team. It marked her first All-Defense honor since entering the league as the No. 1 overall pick in 2022 for the Atlanta Dream. She’s the first Dream player to make an All-Defense Team since 2020.

Howard was arguably the best defensive player on a Dream squad that finished second in the WNBA in defensive rating. Individually, the 6-foot-2 guard led Atlanta in steals with 1.5 per game, a number that ranked 10th in the league. Her 27 blocks on the season set a new career-high, which included a six-block game back on August 29th.

AT THE TOP OF HER GAME! 👑@howard_rhyne is officially the first Dream player to make an All-Defense team since 2020. This WNBA season, she led the team in steals and was top 10 in the WNBA in steals per game.#DoItForTheDream pic.twitter.com/pGkbg5SqCF
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) October 8, 2025

Howard, who made her third All-Star Game appearance this season, made plenty of history in her fourth year as a pro. Finishing ninth in MVP voting, the Tennessee native posted per-game averages of 17.5 points, 4.6 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 34.9 minutes while earning multiple weekly awards.

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She closed the regular season with 102 makes from deep, becoming the first player in franchise history to reach the 100 three-pointers made benchmark in a single year and just the ninth ever in league history. Howard now owns four of the five spots on Atlanta’s most made threes in a season list: 102 in 2025 (1st), 99 in 2023 (2nd), 85 in 2022 (4th), and 80 in 2024 (5th).

With Howard — alongside fellow All-Star Allisha Gray — leading the charge for the Dream, the team finished with a franchise record 30 wins and a three-seed in the WNBA Playoffs. Unfortunately, Atlanta lost its opening round series, 2-1, to the Indiana Fever. But Howard firmly cemented herself as one of the best two-way players in the world in 2025.

Don’t be shocked if she ends up making one of the two All-WNBA Teams, either. Those will be announced on Friday.