Rhyne Howard thrives for Atlanta Dream in first WNBA game

Rhyne Howard shined in her first unofficial game as a WNBA player, helping lead the Atlanta Dream to a blowout victory in the team’s first preseason game of the year.

The franchise’s prized No. 1 overall draft pick finished with 15 points on 4-8 shooting, 3-5 from three and 4-5 from the line to go with five rebounds, two blocks, two steals and one assist in 17:32. She also finished with a team-high plus-30 in the +/-. The Dream won by a final score of 88-69.

Atlanta drafted Howard with the No. 1 pick back on April 12, making her the first player in Kentucky women’s basketball history to be drafted among the top two picks. She’s also just the third Wildcat to go within the first 10 selections.

“Rhyne is a versatile wing who can score the ball in a variety of ways,” said Dream general manager Dan Padover. “Her athleticism and basketball IQ will be the backbone of her future success in this league. She’s a great kid from nearby and we think she will be a key piece for the future of this basketball team.”

Howard averaged a team-high 20.5 points per game as a senior to go with 7.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks across 31 total contests. It was a season effort that earned her First-Team All-America honors for the third year in a row, making her just the ninth player in history to accomplish that feat. She would finish her career with 2,290 total points, good for second in school history among men’s and women’s hoops, trailing only Valerie Still.

The 6-foot-2 guard also helped lead Kentucky to the school’s first conference tournament title since 1982, earning SEC Tournament MVP honors in the process.

“Rhyne is uniquely prepared for the next level,” Indiana Fever interim GM Lin Dunn, who was previously an assistant coach at Kentucky, recently said. “I think there were a couple of players, two or three players in this draft that I think are going to have smooth transitions into the pros and are not only going to play, but they’re going to have an impact. And I think Rhyne Howard is one of those players. Any time you can play four positions — the one, two, three, four, and play them well — then you’re special.”

It took just one appearance to show she can not only hang in there at this level, but become a star.

The 2022 WNBA season officially begins May 6. The Dream’s schedule tips off on Sunday, May 7.