The Atlanta Dream will have to play without Rhyne Howard for the duration of July and the veteran guard will be forced to miss this week's All-Star Game, the team announced Monday. Howard injured her left knee during Friday's game against the Indiana Fever.
The Dream noted Howard is also expected to make a full recovery, and an updated timeline for her return to the court will be provided in due time.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will now be responsible for selecting Howard's replacement, a decision she's made in the recent past. In 2023, Howard was added to the All-Star Game after Elena Delle Donne suffered an ankle sprain that ruled her out of play. That move gave Howard her second All-Star appearance in as many years.
Howard, who was named to the All-Star Reserve list, was selected by Caitlin Clark as part of her team ahead of this week's contest. Ahead of the All-Star Game Draft, Clark made it clear she intended to draft her teammates Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell to her team. Boston was Clark's first pick, and Mitchell is on her reserve team list.
Rhyne Howard has something special in common with Caitlin Clark
The opportunity to see Clark and Howard, who have spent most of this season closely guarding one another each time their teams have met, play on the same side would have been thrilling for fans and spectators alike. Like Clark, Howard is a franchise player the Dream can build around for years to come.
The duo got into a chippy back and forth when the teams met for the first time in the regular season in May. Howard put up big numbers against the Fever (24 points, two assists, two blocks, and five rebounds), and despite Atlanta's loss, made the Fever work hard to best the team from down south.
Howard was signed to the Dream as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft, and became the first from Kentucky to accomplish that distinction. She departed Lexington as the program's all-time three-point shooter and a two-time SEC player of the year, as well as one of only a handful of women's players to be named to the Associated Press' First Team three times.
Howard could follow in the steps of Angel McCoughtry, the Dream's first No. 1 overall pick, who was had five All-Star appearances and was nominated to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team seven times.