Kevin Durant photo with WNBA’s Rhyne Howard sparks buzz

Kevin Durant and Rhyne Howard have social media buzzing over a photo they shared together on Monday night.

The Atlanta Dream guard shared a close-up selfie with the Phoenix Suns star, who appeared to rest his head on hers.

“Oh hey,” Howard, the 2022 WNBA Rookie of the Year, wrote, adding an emoji of a smiling face with red hearts.

Durant, 35, also took to his Instagram Story to repost the photo, which appeared to be taken after the Suns’ 117-116 win over the Blazers at Footprint Center, where 23-year-old Howard was in attendance.

She also shared a photo sitting in the stands at the game.

Howard’s post had some questioning if the two are an item.

Durant and Howard have yet to address the buzz.

It’s possible the two-time WNBA All-Star was simply supporting Durant, as the two have been friends for some time.

Additionally, the NBA champ has been vocal about his support for the WNBA and women’s sports in general.

In January, Howard shared a photo with Durant, who draped his arm around her shoulder.

“Ya favorite player’s favorite player,” she wrote at the time.

Howard later explained how that photo came about, and said she slid in Durant’s DMs while attending one of his games.

“It had been brought to my attention that I was one of his favorite players and I was like, ‘Thee Kevin Durant loves me?’” Howard recalled on Mercury’s “The It Girls” podcast in March.

“And so I was home on a break I went to a game… and I DM’d him and said ‘I think I need to meet you officially, so can I come down?” 

Howard went on to explain that Durant had someone come get her 

“We talked a little bit,” she said. “He’s very chill, very nice and ended up taking that picture.

“I tried to get him to take a TikTok with me… but he was too tired. I texted him not too long ago saying ‘I guess I have to replace my Nets jersey with a Suns jersey — and he’s like, ‘Yeah, lol’ and he was saying how he was trying to get to some of our games and stuff like that.”

Howard also joked about how she’d “100 percent” marry Durant’s former Warriors teammate, Klay Thompson, who she said is her favorite NBA player.

Durant finished with 19 points, four assists and three rebounds in 15 minutes of action on Monday night.

Howard is coming off a strong season with Atlanta, during which she averaged 17.5 points per game.

The Dream’s season ended in the first round of the playoffs against the Dallas Wings.

Earlier this month, Florida women’s basketball announced that Howard — a former Kentucky standout and the No. 1 pick in the 2022 WNBA draft — will be an assistant under Gators coach Kelly Rae Finley and serve as the team’s director of player personnel.