Who's to say Brittney Griner and Rhyne Howard won't be two of the best players in the WNBA this year?
Yes, Griner is now past her prime at age 34. But she's only four years removed from finishing second in MVP voting for what was the second time in three years, and while the ensuing season's wrongful detainment caused some rust, she bounced back with the best field goal percentage of her career (57.9) in 2024.
Meanwhile, though she has yet to receive any MVP votes, Howard, soon to be 25, has the skill set to become one of the faces of the league in the near future, and has already registered the 14th-most 3-pointers made in a single season in WNBA history with 99 in 2023.
Rhyne on the rise
The hype surrounding Howard as the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft was down a bit, mostly due to Charli Collier being a bust the year before, but it quickly became clear that she was on her way to superstardom with the Atlanta Dream. One thing that stood out from her highly-decorated college career at Kentucky was a lack of team success, but she found that too in the early going of the 2022 regular season, with the Dream starting 2-0, 4-1, 6-3 and 7-4 before falling to 14-22 in the end.
Pretty shockingly, Howard never made a Sweet 16 despite her amazing talent and Kentucky's prominence in the national rankings for much of her time in Lexington. Now, Howard is trying to get the winnnig-a-WNBA-playoff-series monkey off her back. In fact, she has yet to win a single postseason contest at the pro level, having been swept in the first round in both 2023 and 2024.
2023's 19-21 record was a step in the right direction for Atlanta in their second year under head coach Tanisha Wright. But the team went 15-25 in the 2024 regular season and Wright was fired. Replacing her is former Florida Gulf Coast head coach Karl Smesko.
But the bigger news is the addition of one of the WNBA's all-time greats in Griner.
Griner's greatness
Griner's journey to being selected No. 1 in 2013 featured no shortage of hype. In fact, that draft class was so good that three players received massive hype (Elena Delle Donne went No. 2 and Skylar Diggins, now Diggins-Smith, went No. 3), with Griner's hype being through the roof even when compared to the other two members of "The Three to See."
When assessing Griner's career, it has to be noted that she hasn't lived up to the Mount Rushmore-level hype and has been outshined by her classmate Delle Donne, who went on to win two MVP awards before announcing her retirement earlier this month. In 2021, ESPN ranked Delle Donne as the 11th-best player in WNBA history.
Griner placed 17th in those rankings, which is indicative of a phenomenal career that has featured a championship, an All-Star appearance every season she has participated in in which an All-Star Game was played (nine), three All-WNBA First Team nods, and two Defensive Player of the Year awards. She is a Phoenix Mercury legend, having played for them her whole career up until now, and is a phenomenal human being who has been through so much adversity, most notably her 293-day-long wrongful detainment in Russia. For her to bounce back from that physically and emotionally speaks volumes. Her fandom grew considerably during that ordeal, and rightfully so.
All these amazing accolades and attributes, combined with the hype that surrounded her at Baylor and early in her pro career, make her an exceedingly intriguing figure. The fact that the highest individual honor, an MVP award, has eluded her adds to the intrigue. She has come achingly close, receiving votes six times, including five Top 6 finishes and the two second place finishes.
The team up that could lift the Dream up
Her MVP window is likely closed, but Griner still has a chance to be rejuvenated by Howard and boost her legacy in these later years by making a run at another championship.
Howard, meanwhile, is happy that the Dream can now expect to legitimately contend with the league's best teams instead of sneaking into the playoffs with a losing record. Griner will in turn aid her quest for a first chip.
The supporting cast
This offseason the Dream also added three-time All-Star Brionna Jones to go along with Howard, Griner and Allisha Gray, the last of whom has played the best basketball of her career over her first two seasons in Atlanta, making the All-Star Game for the first and second time in 2023 and 2024, respectively. This Big 4 makes the Dream a second-tier team, behind only the first tier consisting of the New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces and Minnesota Lynx.
Perhaps the Indiana Fever have done the most to improve their squad this offseason, but the Dream is up there with the other teams that have gotten better. Expect the Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings to also be much-improved and join the Fever and Dream in that second tier.
Under a best case scenario, I think the Dream are the fifth-best team in the league, and maybe they upset the Top 4 in the playoffs. A deep playoff run is not out of the realm of possibility. The Lynx came within overtime of Game 5 of winning the WNBA title last year with a roster that was far less impressive on paper than that of the Liberty and Aces.
Griner alone should scare the rest of the league. Her mid-range shot has become lethal, and we already know she is 6-9 and one of the greatest inside scorers in league history. She even went 9-of-18 from 3 last year! Add Howard's physicality and versatility, Gray's grittiness and Jones' inside scoring ability and you've got a very dangerous team.
The Dream also have a very capable point guard in Jordin Canada, who averaged 10.6 points and 5.8 assists last year, plus former Michigan star forward Naz Hillmon, who has been solid for them for three years, and some added snipers in Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and 2023-24 NCAA 3-point percentage leader Te-Hina Paopao, the last of whom was drafted Monday night and may make the roster.
Time to get to work
Griner, the legend known for her dunking and soft touch who is beloved across the league. Howard, the strong, physical, 6-2, do-it-all shooting guard who is threatening to take over. Can't wait to see them work together.