Rhyne Howard's impressive WNBA debut sign of what's to come

One game into her professional career and Rhyne Howard looks every bit the part of a No. 1 pick.

The Atlanta Dream rookie and former Kentucky Wildcats superstar put on an absolute show in her first WNBA regular-season outing. Howard led the Dream in scoring on Saturday with 16 points to go along with her three rebounds, four assists, four blocks (including a pair of impressive fastbreak rejections, which became one of her signature moves while in Lexington), and two steals as her squad opens the schedule 1-0 with a 66-59 victory over the Dallas Wings. All four of Howard’s made buckets came from beyond the 3-point line and she also finished 4-5 from the free-throw line.

She becomes the first player ever in WNBA history to record at least four made triples and four blocks in her debut, according to ESPN. Howard also played a game-high 36 minutes.

Howard registered eight of her points in the first quarter alone as the Dream built a sizable lead early on. At one point, she either scored or assisted on 17 of Atlanta’s first 27 points, helping her team build a 29-11 lead. Dallas would respond in the second quarter though, taking that frame 24-10 to give us a halftime score of 39-35.

Out of the intermission, the Dream punched first, winning a slugfest third quarter 16-9. The Wings wound up winning the final 10 minutes of action 15-11, but Atlanta was able to fend off any last-ditch comeback effort to seal the seven-point victory. The win signals what could be the beginning of a new era for this struggling franchise.

The Dream came into the 2022 season in full rebuild mode, which led to them trading up in order to draft Howard No. 1 overall last month. Atlanta finished 8-24 a year ago and has posted a record of just 23-65 over the last three seasons. That led to front office changes over the offseason, including a new general manager in Dan Padover, who also brought in a new head coach, Tanisha Wright.

LETS GOOOOOOOO!!! 💦💦@AtlantaDream || #DoItForTheDream pic.twitter.com/joK2EiWVzV

— Sydney (@VcSyd) May 8, 2022

Howard finished her WNBA debut shooting just 4-15 from the floor (4-12 from distance), as the physicality of the pro game will take her some adjusting when it comes to attacking the basket. That being said, her jump shot looks as smooth as ever and she proved from day one she can be an elite defender at this level. Howard was her typical calm, cool, and collected self throughout the entire game, even pulling a veteran move by immediately removing one of her teammates from a potential on-court scuffle.

The future is very, very bright for the Kentucky Women’s Basketball legend.