The Atlanta Dream got back to winning ways following a loss against the Las Vegas Aces, with a win over the Dallas Wings. Rhyne Howard created WNBA history during the game against the Wings, continuing her stellar performances throughout the season.
Ironically, she never won any accolades for her impactful numbers in the 2025 season, but Atlanta’s shooting guard’s mega week in August earned her first Eastern Conference Player of the Year award.
Rhyne Howard Wins Eastern Player Of the Week Accolade
Just before the final week of August, the Atlanta Dream put forward a strong challenge for the title in the 2025 season with wins over the 2024 finalists, the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty. The Las Vegas Aces halted their impressive run behind A’ja Wilson’s strong offensive play. Rhyne Howard seemed unimpressed over fans’ support for Wilson during that game and put up a massive show in the next game against the Wings.
With a career-best six blocks in the game against the Wings, Howard became the first guard with 5+ blocks in the 2025 season. The 2022 rookie followed it up with a 23-point game-winning output against the Connecticut Sun. Throughout the final, the player averaged 21.5 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks.
The WNBA honored the 25-year-old star with the Kia WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played August 25–30. While Alisha Gray, Sabrina Ionescu, and Kelsey Mitchell won the award twice this season, multiple other players, including Angel Reese, won the accolade once, highlighting the competition in the league. while
RHYNE HOWARD IS YOUR WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK! 👑@howard_rhyne secures her first 2025 weekly award after a record-breaking performance this week.#DoItForTheDream | #AllDefensiveTeam pic.twitter.com/F5GHzs5NPl
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) September 2, 2025
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Interestingly, this was Howard’s first weekly honor of the 2025 season and the second of her career. The former Kentucky star played a pivotal role in the final stretch of the 2025 WNBA season as the team is looking to lock the second seed for the playoffs.
Rhyne Howard Needs To Step Up To Clinch WNBA Title
The 2022 Rookie of the Year winner had been very effective and efficient for the Dream side. After a successful first season, she delivered a career-best season in her sophomore year with around 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists stats line.
Although the two-time All-Star is putting up similar numbers, her shooting percentage has dropped significantly. The Atlanta Dream’s overall team depth covered up this ‘dip’ with their individual performances, but the playoff run would be a different story. With the first WNBA championship, the shooting guard must work on her efficiency in the games.
The side has four games remaining in the season and will play the struggling Connecticut Sun and Los Angeles Sparks twice in that run. Howard and co. will look to finish the season on a strong note with a chance to have an easier route to the WNBA finals.