Atlanta Dream select Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard with top pick in WNBA draft;

The Atlanta Dream, who traded up last week to acquire the top overall pick in the 2022 WNBA draft, selected Kentucky guard Rhyne Howard at No. 1 on Monday night in New York.

The Washington Mystics won the draft lottery in December, but traded the top pick to Atlanta last week, as the Dream moved up from No. 3 to guarantee they got Howard.

The 6-foot-2 Howard, the SEC Player of the Year as a sophomore and a junior, averaged 20.5 points and 7.4 rebounds during her senior season, leading the Wildcats in points, rebounds, 3-pointers, steals and blocks. The only other SEC player to do that over the past 20 seasons was Mississippi State‘s Tan White (2003-04 and 2004-05).

“I’m shaking right now,” Howard told ESPN’s Holly Rowe after being drafted at No. 1. “It’s a dream come true.”

Baylor‘s 6-foot-4 forward NaLyssa Smith, the Big 12 Player of the Year the past two seasons, was the No. 2 pick by the Indiana Fever, who had four first-round selections.

“I’m coming in hungry,” said Smith, who can play either the power forward or small forward position in the WNBA. She is known for scoring in the paint and believes her range will keep growing.

Smith averaged 22.1 points and 11.5 rebounds this past season for the Bears, who won the Big 12 regular-season title for the 12th year in a row. She was part of Baylor’s 2019 national championship team as a freshman.

The top three picks went as expected, as the Mystics selected Ole Miss 6-foot-5 center Shakira Austin at No. 3. Austin averaged 15.2 points and 9.0 rebounds for the Rebels in 2021-22 and can be a force on interior offense and defense for Washington.

The Fever were expected to go big on defense and posts with their early-round picks, and the last pick in the lottery at No. 4 fit both: Louisville 6-foot-1 forward Emily Engstler, who helped the Cardinals make the women’s Final Four in 2022. Same description goes for the Fever’s No. 10 pick, Smith’s Baylor teammate, 6-foot-3 center Queen Egbo.

But the Fever’s selection at No. 6 was a surprise: Stanford guard Lexie Hull, who many projected as a second-round pick. But Hull, who helped the Cardinal win the NCAA title in 2021 and make it back to the Final Four this past season, impressed Indiana general manager Lin Dunn with her nonstop hustle and ability to hit 3-pointers.

It was the first time a WNBA team has had four picks in the first round. With Smith, Engstler, Hull and Egbo, Dunn hopes Indiana has a young foundation to help the Fever return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Franchise legend Tamika Catchings retired following that season.

“We’re gonna rebuild with young players,” Dunn said of the Fever, who last had a winning regular-season record in 2015. “I’m seeing highly skilled players coming out of college, but the real key adjustments are the physicality and the speed of the game. I need players who can adapt to that quickly.”

The No. 5 pick brought another “sister act” to the WNBA, as Oregon center/forward Nyara…