Rhyne Howard runs away with WNBA Rookie of the Year honors

From the moment Rhyne Howard was drafted No. 1 overall, it was never truly in doubt who would win the 2022 WNBA Rookie of the Year award. On Thursday, she was finally recognized with the inevitable honor.

Howard, arguably the greatest player to ever come through the Kentucky women’s basketball program, received 53 of the 56 total votes for Rookie of the Year. She became just the second-ever Atlanta Dream player to win the award, joining five-time WNBA All-Star Angel McCoughtry (2009). Howard finished her first professional season averaging 16.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.6 steals while starting all 34 games she appeared in.

Shakira Austin of the Washington Mystics received two votes for ROY while NaLyssa Smith of the Indiana Fever earned one. Additionally, Howard was one of five players tabbed to the WNBA All-Rookie Team.

If you're surprised, you're not watching…@howard_rhyne is your 2022 Kia @WNBA 𝙍𝙊𝙊𝙆𝙄𝙀 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙔𝙀𝘼𝙍.#DoItForTheDream pic.twitter.com/XjyjUuT3TT

— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) August 25, 2022

Howard was recently named the Associated Press Rookie of the Year, and it was only a matter of time before the league did the same. The 6-foot-2 guard won all four of the WNBA’s Rookie of the Month honors throughout the season while leading all rookies on points, assists, steals, and minutes per game. Howard was also selected as an All-Star and even won Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors during her debut week as a rookie.

This fall, Howard will continue her basketball season overseas with Famila Wuber Schio, an Italian women’s basketball team that plays in Italy’s Serie A and the EuroLeague. Schio finished the 2021-22 regular season with a perfect 23-0 record before winning the league Finals this past May in four games.

This year was just the beginning for Howard. She has a great chance to be one of the best players in the entire world sooner rather than later. It wasn’t all long ago she was winning national Freshman of the Year during her first season at Kentucky…