Rhyne Howard continues to be a problem for rest of the WNBA

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On3 image — Photo by Rich von Biberstein | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Her team may have lost, but Rhyne Howard’s continued run of success is the real winner here.

On Friday night, the Atlanta Dream (2-1) fell at home to the Las Vegas Aces (3-1) by a final score of 96-73. Howard, Atlanta’s prized rookie and 2022 No. 1 overall pick, finished with 13 points for the Dream on 4-10 shooting, including a perfect 2-2 mark from 3-point range and 3-3 clip from the free-throw line. She also chipped in four rebounds, two assists, and one unbelievable block with just one turnover in 25 minutes.

Unfortunately, the game got out of hand quickly, with the Aces building a 23-12 lead after the first period before taking a 49-33 advantage into the halftime break. Las Vegas outscored Atlanta in all four quarters. But in spite of that, Howard once again showed that she is already capable of playing — nay, excelling — at the WNBA level.

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Like, how the hell did she do this?

That is Howard getting elbowed directly in the face by Aces’ forward Dearica Hamby and then holding her mouth throughout the ensuing Dream possession. When Vegas gets the ball back, Howard somehow blocks Hambry’s shot attempt while playing with just one hand. Hamby is no slouch of a player either — the seven-year veteran was named the Sixth Woman of the Year in 2019 and 2020.

Howard was just fine, too. She would return in the fourth quarter and played a few more minutes before finishing her night on the sidelines. Now three games into her professional career, she’s averaging 16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 2.0 blocks per outing on a shooting split of 34.9/45.8/90.0 — far and away the best stat line among rookies. Howard is looking incredibly comfortable with her jump shot and defending one-on-one. She’s still adapting to the physicality of play in the paint and defending more advanced sets, but those will come with time.

The Dream got exactly what they needed with Howard.

Atlanta will travel to Indianapolis on Sunday to face the Indiana Fever (2-2) at 3:00 p.m. EST.