Rhyne Howard sets WNBA single-season rookie record for most made 3s

There is no discussion to be made at this point: Rhyne Howard is the clearcut Rookie of the Year favorite.

Drafted No. 1 overall by the Atlanta Dream earlier this year, the former Kentucky Wildcat has looked every bit of a future superstar in the WNBA. Howard is one of the league’s top overall scorers (16.1 ppg; 12th highest), was named a 2022 All-Star, and holds all three Rookie of the Month awards so far. In her latest achievement, the 6-foot-2, do-it-all guard broke a record that previously stood for 20 years.

On Tuesday against the Las Vegas Aces, Howard drilled her 77th three-pointer of the year in the middle of the fourth quarter, which moved her ahead of Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings for the most triples made in a single season by a WNBA rookie. The Dream has two more regular-season games left on the schedule, too. Catchings hit 76 three-pointers as a rookie during the 2002 season in 32 games played.

Rhyne Howard etches her name in the history books 📚@howard_rhyne now has the #WNBA record for the most 3s in a season by a rookie (77), passing Tamika Catchings' (76) who set the record in 2002 🙌#MoreThan pic.twitter.com/gegj6tIclJ

— WNBA (@WNBA) August 10, 2022

It’s been an excellent beginning to her professional career for Howard. She’s dropped more 20-point games (10) than all other rookies combined and her 144 total rebounds rank second in Dream history among rookies (with No. 1 being fellow rookie teammate Naz Hillmon, who is up to 159 rebounds).

On the season, Howard is averaging 16.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per outing across 32 games played (all starts). She leads Atlanta in minutes per game at 31.1 while shooting 33.8 percent from distance on 7.8 attempts per contest. After hitting a brief rookie wall in June, Howard has returned to form in July and August. She’s up to 17.3 points per game since the month of July began.

Rhyne Howard’s last 7 games:

– 24 PTS, 5 REB, 2 STL, 3 BLK
– 10 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL
– 23 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL
– 18 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL
– 22 PTS, 6 REB, 1 STL, 2 BLK
– 20 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 5 STL
– 28 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL

We see you @howard_rhyne! #WNBA pic.twitter.com/jIFxOMevNO

— Women’s Hoopz (@WBBWorldWide) August 6, 2022

Howard and Atlanta would lose Tuesday night’s contest against the Aces, falling 97-90 on the road. The Dream sits on a 14-20 overall record but will have a chance to sneak into the playoffs. Only eight of the WNBA’s 12 franchises make the postseason. Atlanta is currently in the eighth seed but is just a half-game ahead of both the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty. The Dream will actually face the Liberty in its final two regular-season games, which will likely decide which team’s season comes to an early end.