Rhyne Howard named WNBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Week

Aug 27, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard (10) controls the ball against the Las Vegas Aces during the second half at Gateway Center Arena at College Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Now in year four as a pro, Rhyne Howard is still hitting her stride.

On Tuesday afternoon, the former Kentucky women’s basketball star was tabbed as the WNBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Howard, who was named an All-Star for the third time earlier this season, appeared in two games last week for the Atlanta Dream, averaging 21.5 points, six assists, four rebounds, and three blocks per outing. Atlanta went 1-1 during that stretch, losing to the Aces by six points before bouncing back to take down the Wings by 22. Against the Wings, the 6-foot-2 Howard became the first player in league history to record six blocks and six three-pointers in a single contest.

This award marks Howard’s first weekly honor of the 2025 season — and it doesn’t even account for her Monday night performance in a win over the Sun, either, when she dropped 23 points on 8-16 shooting. Alongside fellow All-Star Allisha Gray, the Dream is tied for second place in the WNBA standings with a record of 26-14, a franchise-high for wins in a single season. They’ve already clinched a spot in the playoffs, too.

Buckets all week LONG 💥

Rhyne Howard put up 21.5 | 4.0 | 6.0 in a 2–1 stretch for the @atlantadream to take home Eastern Conference Player of the Week!#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/jJ6hirj9uJ
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 2, 2025

Up until this season, Howard had played on losing Dream teams. Atlanta went 14-22, 19-21, and 15-25, respectively, during her first three seasons in the league after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2022. Those final two years were still enough to sneak into the postseason, but both resulted in early exits.

Now with a new head coach (former Florida Gulf Coast coach Karl Smesko) running the show, that could change this season as Atlanta is humming along ahead of the upcoming playoffs. There are only four more regular-season games to go before the postseason begins for the Dream.

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Howard’s counting stats have mostly stayed the same throughout her career, but having more talent around her has translated to more team success. She’s averaging 16.8 points, a career-high 4.6 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 35.1 minutes per outing this season. The Tennessee native has 10 games of 20-plus points and only five games finishing in single-digits.

Still just 25 years old, Howard is only getting better. Is a deep playoff run this season in the cards?