Dream guard Rhyne Howard's big game vs. Liberty draws fiery Trae Young reaction

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The Atlanta Dream were always going to find their first-round matchup against the New York Liberty in the 2024 WNBA playoffs to be a difficult one. Merely qualifying for the playoffs by the skin of their teeth with a rather poor 15-25 record, the Dream’s hopes of mounting a deep playoff run were rather slim from the get-go. Regardless, the Dream aren’t going down without a fight, as they kept Game 2 close against the Liberty before they lost steam in the end in a 91-82 defeat.

In particular, Rhyne Howard was doing her best to lift the Dream towards a potential upset. She was a warrior out there, playing all 40 minutes of Atlanta’s heartbreaking defeat that sees their season come to an end, and she even captured the attention of another Atlanta sports star, Trae Young. The Hawks star gave Howard her flowers even though they fell short of the ultimate goal.

“Rhyne Howard y'all game is nice!” Young wrote on his official account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Howard finished the game with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks — a well-rounded stat-line — as she did her best in being the Dream’s rock. It was just way too difficult for the Dream to mount much of a challenge for the Liberty in the end. Not only do they have two of the greatest players in WNBA history in Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, they also have the services of one of the best guards in the league in Sabrina Ionescu.

On Tuesday night, Ionescu carved up the Dream’s defense to the tune of 36 points on 12-23 shooting from the field. When Ionescu’s shot is falling like that, it’s not easy for any team to overcome the Liberty.

But just like the Hawks, it’s been difficult for the Dream to crack the upper-echelon of playoff teams over the past few years. Trae Young and Rhyne Howard seem to be in a very similar boat, and the Dream may have to follow their NBA counterpart’s lead in embracing the youth in preparation for building a sustainable contending team.

Rhyne Howard’s Dream, Trae Young Hawks’ are in a similar boat

The past few seasons haven’t exactly been smooth-sailing for the Atlanta professional sports teams. Their basketball teams, in particular, have been stuck in a web of mediocrity and they have found it difficult to return to serious contention.

In 2018, the Dream were still a serious contender. The following year was when their decline began. Declines to their three best players, as well as an injury to Angel McCoughtry, made the 2019 season one straight out of their nightmares. Since then, the Dream have not finished above .500. In fact, their record this year is worse than last year — not exactly a good sign.

Rhyne Howard was the first overall pick of the 2022 WNBA Draft, and she looks to be the only long-term keeper the Dream have alongside Allisha Gray. (Former MVP Tina Charles is as solid as ever, but she’s 35 years of age — not exactly a long-term keeper. Their first-round picks in 2023 haven’t panned out yet, although at least they have time on their hands.

Meanwhile, Trae Young and the Hawks have been on a slow downfall ever since making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. They were first-round fodder in 2022 and 2023, and they missed the playoffs entirely in 2024 after falling short in the play-in tournament. But at the very least, they have quality young players at their disposal, which makes their future outlook look promising.

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