Rhyne Howard and Haley Jones are not strangers to one another, which could spell trouble for teams facing the Atlanta Dream in the upcoming WNBA season.
In an interview with reporter Mark Schindler, Jones revealed that the pair were texting on her draft night. The Dream selected the 6-foot-1 guard with the No. 6 overall pick, and they picked Howard with the No. 1 overall pick in 2022.
Howard and Jones played together on the U.S. youth national team, and their moms are friends, which has led to even more excitement as Jones makes her way to Atlanta.
“Me and Rhyne have talked a bit since I’ve been drafted. She texted me while I was at the draft,” Jones said. “We were chatting on draft night about our excitement to play together again. I think that the way that we play works very well.”
According to Jones, Howard already has their handshake picked out. She has a different one for every player on the team, and she’s excited to welcome Jones with her own special greeting.
“Fun fact: I have one ready for almost everybody,” Howard wrote on Twitter.
Fun fact: I have one ready for almost everybody so @kelseybibik didn’t lie 🤭 https://t.co/CkyQ3w5yaH— Rhyne Howard 🤟🏾🈳 (@howard_rhyne) April 18, 2023
Fun fact: I have one ready for almost everybody so @kelseybibik didn’t lie 🤭 https://t.co/CkyQ3w5yaH
For her part, Jones is ready to hit the ground running with her new team.
“I think that we play very well together. We’re great friends off the court, Rhyne is an even better person which is hard to imagine with how great of a player she is,” Jones said. “I’m just excited to get there, play with Rhyne and play with everybody on this team.”