The Golden State Valkyries snapped the Atlanta Dream’s winning streak in this year’s playoffs, defeating them 68-64 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday.

Rhyne Howard spoke with a reporter after the game, giving her thoughts on what went wrong for Atlanta. Her comments led to scathing criticism from fans on social media.

Dream Fans Call Out Rhyne Howard’s ‘Lack of Accountability’ After Game 1 Loss vs. Valkyries

The Dream faced difficulties offensively in Game 1, shooting 21-for-64 (32.8%) from the field. Atlanta News First’s Baillie Burmaster sought Howard’s comments after the loss.

The guard had a rough night, recording 12 points on 3-for-14 shooting, but her postgame interview focused on the team’s overall struggles rather than her individual performance.

Howard said, “They forced us into a version of a game of basketball that we don’t play. You know, we didn’t punch back. We just kinda played to how they were making us play, and you know, we are gonna have to watch some film and go back and make some adjustments.”

She added, “We play like we been playing in the regular postseason. We play like we’re No. 1 in those categories that matter. You know, we play our basketball; we don’t let them dictate how we want to play.”

Several fans criticized Howard’s words after the game, arguing that she showed a “lack of accountability.”

A hoops account criticized the guard’s performance on both ends of the floor, saying, “‘We’? no, Rhyne, it’s YOU. You let Gabby drop damn near a 30 ball on your head, and Kalia [Kaila] Charles was giving you that [expletive] work off the dribble and on the glass. The lack of accountability is NASTY.”

Gabby Williams finished with a game-high 26 points. Golden State also outrebounded the Dream 41-35.

One league observer asked, “Who is we? Girl, take some accountability for once.”

Another fan questioned whether Howard had ever taken accountability, asking, “Has she ever taken accountability for?”

One fan compared Howard’s words to those of Allisha Gray and Angel Reese, saying both had acknowledged their individual shortcomings.

They said, “Rhyne disappointed me so much tdy. ok we can’t go to war with you bc of a mental block. But there’s no accountability with her at all. I’ve seen Jc, Lish Angel ALL take accountability in the presser and say what they could’ve done individually better. None of that from Rhy.”

Sports journalist Dawn Montgomery, however, defended Howard, praising how she handled the interview, saying, “LOVE LOVE LOVE how @howard_rhyne handled this!! Also great questions @baillie_burm.”

While Game 1 was a struggle for Howard, she wasn’t alone. Gray went 5-for-19 from the field, finishing with just 19 points. Gray and Reese were also held scoreless in the fourth quarter.

Dream coach Karl Smesko backed Howard after the loss, telling reporters he expects “big games” from her and others in the series. He said: “Golden State is a great defense, but I got a lot of confidence that we’re gonna see some really big games from Rhyne and others and that we’ll take care of what we need to take care of.”

Howard has been key to the Dream all season, averaging 17.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the regular season. She is the team’s leading scorer in these playoffs with 18.0 points through six games.

Atlanta will need more from her and the rest of the starters to even the series in the next game. Despite the team’s poor shooting, the Dream remained within two possessions in the closing seconds.

However, they still need to find a way to generate better looks and limit Golden State’s defensive impact. Howard will have the opportunity to respond to her critics when Game 2 of the WNBA Finals tips off from Chase Center on Monday.