Rhyne Howard to suit up for Skills Challenge at WNBA All-Star Weekend

ZGeogheganKSR

Rhyne Howard has a shot at the All-Star triple crown this weekend.

Already named to the WNBA All-Star Game and 3-Point Contest, the Atlanta Dream rookie will now participate in the Skills Challenge, the league announced on Friday. Howard is one of just two players who have been named to all three of the weekend’s main events, which will be held in Chicago, joining Las Vegas Aces’ fourth-year point guard Kelsey Plum.

The Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest will take place on Saturday, July 9 with the All-Star Game scheduled for Sunday, July 10. The Skills Challenge will begin at 3:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.

HER SKILLS CAN KILL‼️@howard_rhyne has been selected to show off in the 2022 @WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge! Tune in live tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET on @espn.#DoItForTheDream pic.twitter.com/CDABHxXPZO
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) July 8, 2022

“It means a lot to me to have been chosen to participate in the AT&T All-Star Game, the MTN Dew 3-Point Competition and now the Skills Competition all in my first season,” Howard said, per the WNBA. “Competing against the players I have looked up to for years on a stage like this is going to feel surreal, but I am excited to show the world what I can do.”

Howard joins a loaded field of the league’s most talented ball handlers and playmakers that includes G Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty), F Jonquel Jones (Connecticut Sun), G Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces), F NaLyssa Smith (Indiana Fever), F/C Azurá Stevens (Chicago Sky), G Courtney Vandersloot (Chicago Sky), and G Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces).

Below is a description of the Skills Challenge, per the WNBA’s press release.

A three-round, bracket-style event, the Skills Challenge will feature two teams competing simultaneously on an identical course. The team that successfully completes the course first shall be deemed the winner of that matchup and advance to the next round of the competition. Following the first round, four teams will advance to the second round. The winners of the second round will advance to the championship round and compete for the title. In the event of a tie in any head-to-head competition, the tied teams shall repeat the course.
WNBA

Through 22 games for the Dream (10-12), Howard is leading her team in scoring at 15.1 points per outing. She also contributes 4.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 33.8 percent from distance on 6.7 attempts. The No. 1 overall pick was named the Rookie of the Month in June, her second Rookie of the Month honor this year. Howard averaged 14.3 points while leading all rookies in made field goals (5.3) and three-pointers (2.1) per game in June.