Since we know that Unrivaled is a league that will grant the offense more opportunities to score with less defenders, it’s only right that they extended an invite to a top bucket-getter in Rhyne Howard. She’s an emerging three-level versatile scorer with a knack for breaking down her defender with any move.
Howard was Born on April 29, 2000, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she quickly made a name for herself as a basketball prodigy in high school at Bradley Central, in Cleveland, Tennessee. Her dominance at the high school level earned her a McDonald’s All-American bid as well as Tennessee’s Miss Basketball in 2018. Howard’s standout high school career led her to the University of Kentucky, where she became one of the most decorated players in the program’s history.
From her freshman year, Howard made an immediate impact, earning SEC Freshman of the Year honors in 2019. She followed that up with an extraordinary sophomore season, being named SEC Player of the Year in 2020. Howard would even go on to repeat as the SEC Player of the Year in 2021, becoming the first player in Kentucky history to earn the award multiple times. She was the motor and the glue for the Wildcats during her time in Lexington. She finished her college career with over 2,000 points, ranking her among the top scorers in Kentucky’s history while helping lead Kentucky to an SEC title in 2022. Her collegiate success and all-around game led to high expectations for her transition to the professional level. Howard’s ability to score from anywhere on the court makes her a danger for opposing defenses as soon as she steps across halfcourt. That aspect of her offensive game that gets mixed with her defensive IQ, makes her such a complete basketball player.
In the 2022 WNBA Draft, Howard finally got her moment to be on the biggest stage of women’s basketball, as she was selected first overall by the Atlanta Dream. She has quickly made an impact in the league as she earned WNBA Rookie of the Year honors in 2022. Howard has consistently showcased her impressive scoring ability, defensive skills, and leadership year in and year out since first stepping foot in the league in 2022. Since then, she has been labeled as one of the premier talents and faces of the younger superstars in the WNBA. Currently in 2024, she’s averaging 17.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game for the Atlanta Dream.
I think she will make a seamless transition into the Unrivaled league because she has a killer mentality that is hard for any other participating player to match. She’s always determined to get a bucket when her team needs it most and she can do that from anywhere on the floor. If you couple that with her awareness and willingness to lock up on the perimeter defensively, she will easily emerge as one of the top players in this competition.
