Rhyne Howard selected 2nd among reserves in 2022 WNBA All-Star Draft

Rhyne Howard is only a 22-year-old rookie, but she’s already earned the respect of the game’s greatest players.

Howard, who is set to particpate in the upcoming 2022 WNBA All-Star Game, was drafted second overall among reserves during Saturday’s roster selection show. The Atlanta Dream guard will join Team Wilson for the All-Star contest, which is scheduled for Sunday, July 10 in Chicago. Howard was drafted eighth overall from a pool of the league’s 18 best players this season.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗸!@howard_rhyne // Team @_ajawilson22 pic.twitter.com/uMRhBH0KHS

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) July 2, 2022

Team Wilson is led by Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson, who was among the top-two All-Star fan vote recipients and thus was named a captain for one of the teams. The 2020 WNBA MVP is one of the league’s top overall players at 25 years old and is dominating the competition again during her 2022 campaign.

If Wilson thought Howard was worthy of her first pick off the bench — which included a pool of players such as multi-time All-Stars Skylar Diggins-Smith (6-time), Jewell Loyd (4-time), and Courtney Vandersloot (4-time) — that’s a pretty significant indicator as to where Howard ranks on the respect meter across the league.

Through 20 games with the Dream this season, Howard is averaging a team-high 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per contest. She’s also shooting 34.8 percent from beyond the arc on 6.9 attempts in a little over 31 minutes per game.