When the reserves for the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game were announced on Saturday, Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard’s name was not on the list. That turned out to be bad news for the Los Angeles Sparks, as Howard took out her frustration with the best game of her career on Sunday.
Howard finished with a career-high 43 points, two rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks on 14-of-20 from the field and 6-of-12 from downtown in the Dream’s dominant 112-84 win. She wound up one point shy of the Dream franchise record of 44 points, set by Betty Lennox in 2008.
“It felt great,” Howard said. “I was already mad and then coming into this game, everything was going in, like I said at halftime. There were some words said on the other end so that just kept me going.”
Howard actually missed her first shot, but that would be the only reprieve the Sparks got all afternoon. She had 17 by the end of the first quarter and never looked back. By the time she was approaching the 40-point mark in the fourth quarter she was openly jawing with the Sparks bench.
“[I want] respect,” Howard said. “I’ve been here, I made a statement last year, I’m continuing to make that statement this year, so they need to put…
