SAN FRANCISCO -- Rhyne Howard dribbled this way and that, trying desperately to shake Veronica Burton as the last 20 seconds of Game 1 of the 2026 WNBA Finals ticked away on Saturday. But even a screen from Angel Reese was no use, and Howard eventually had to toss the ball to Allisha Gray, who airballed a 3-pointer that sealed the Dream's fate in an eventual 68-64 loss to the Golden State Valkyries. Howard's inability to create space on that possession did not register on the stat sheet, but it highlighted the four-time All-Star's continued struggles in the postseason.
The Dream were able to withstand her poor shooting nights in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but need her to figure things out if they want to comeback from this 1-0 deficit and win the first title in franchise history. Howard finished Game 1 with as many turnovers as made field goals, and scored just 12 points on 3 of 14 from the field in the second-lowest postseason scoring performance of her career. Notably, she was 0 of 4 in the fourth quarter as the Dream let a seven-point lead slip away.
Dating back to the start of the semifinals, Howard is averaging 16.8 points on 20 of 75 (26.7%) shooting overall, including 9 of 33 (27.3%) from 3-point range. She wasn't much better in the first round. Here are her splits between the regular season and playoffs: Howard has never been the most efficient player -- she shot above 40% this season for the first time in her career -- but even by her standards the last four games have been shocking.
She spoke briefly to the media after Game 1, but did not address her own poor shooting. Speaking more broadly, Howard said that the Valkyries "forced us into a version of basketball that we don't play" and said that the Dream would have to "watch some tough film and go back and make some adjustments." Dream coach Karl Smesko noted that he liked one of the looks Howard got late, but otherwise did not specifically speak about Howard's struggles. The Dream and the Valkyries both cancelled practice on Sunday and shootaround on Monday, which meant we were unable to speak to Howard, or anyone else in between Games 1 and 2.
In lieu of any insight from their end, let's dive into the tape and the numbers to see what's gone wrong for Howard lately, and how the Dream could get her back on track against an elite Valkyries defense. Howard is primarily a jump shooter. Her 8.8 3-point attempts per game this season were actually down from her record-setting 9.6 last season, but she once again led the league in attempts and had an absurd .613 3-point attempt rate.
In the playoffs, she's cut back slightly, putting up 7.2 attempts per game and registering a .426 3-point attempt rate. Unfortunately for her and the Dream, her efficiency has also dropped significantly. If you dig deeper into Howard's shooting splits, an interesting trend emerges: nearly the entire decline has come from off-the-dribble attempts.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
