Without question, Rhyne Howard proved to be the WNBA Rookie of the Year, garnering 53 of the 56 first-place votes. What’s more, Howard is the first player from the Atlanta Dream to win the honor since Angel McCoughtry back in 2009.
In this case, Howard stood out from the very start of her rookie season in the WNBA. The former Kentucky Wildcats star scored 16 points with four blocked shots. In addition, all of her points came from beyond the arc, draining four shots from downtown.
From #1 overall pick to ROTY👑@howard_rhyne is your 2022 @Kia #WNBA Rookie of the Year 🙌
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 25, 2022
Howard averaged 16.2 PPG , 4.5 RPG , and 2.8 APG, while leading all rookies in points, assists, steals (1.59) and MPG (31.3) 👏#MoreThan pic.twitter.com/Gwa4XnblB8
Howard became the first rookie in league history to have four blocks and four three-pointers in their debut. If that wasn’t enough, she dominated the season making even more history.
Howard and Her Incredible Season
First, she put up 33 points in a victory over the Indiana Fever. 17 of those points came in the first quarter. The 17 points tied for the third-most scored in a quarter by a player in their first year in the league. Also, it was the most scored by a rookie in the first quarter of any WNBA game.
Rhyne Howard's 17 points in the first quarter stands as the second most in Dream history and third most in WNBA history. It's the most points earned in a first quarter by a rookie in league history.
— Atlanta Dream PR (@ATLDreamPR) May 15, 2022
Next, she was the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of May 15th. Additionally, Howard was the Associated Press Player of the Week on May 16th. She’s the first rookie to win the award in the opening week of their career since Basketball Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings in 2002. Furthermore, Howard was the first Dream rookie to ever get the WNBA Player of the Week award in franchise history.
Elite company 🤩@howard_rhyne | @AtlantaDream pic.twitter.com/N4HorslnYe
— ESPN (@espn) August 25, 2022
All things considered, there’s a reason why Atlanta gave up a lot to move up to the number spot in this year’s WNBA Draft. At this point, Howard has more than shown that she has superstar potential. By and large, the Dream has a player in Howard to make their dreams a reality. In other words, she’s the real deal.
