Tina Charles thought her stellar WNBA career might be over after she didn’t play in the league last season. Instead, she returned this year, and on Wednesday night, she moved into second place on the WNBA’s career scoring list. Phoenix MercuryDiana Taurasi.
Charles had 12 points and 17 rebounds, and the Atlanta Dream beat Phoenix 72-63 in College Park, Georgia, for its third win since the Olympic break.
“An absolute sense of gratitude,” Charles said of his place on the scoresheet, praising his religious faith and belief in his dreams. “Where I was last year is where I am today. … Last year I thought I was done playing. So to be here now is pretty special.”
Charles passed Hall of Famer Tina Thompson (7,488 points) for second on the all-time scoring list and now has 7,491 career points in her 13 WNBA seasons. Taurasi, whose 3-pointer Tuesday, has scored 10,500 points in her 20 WNBA seasons. Both are former UConn stars who were USA Basketball teammates in three Olympics and were briefly WNBA teammates with Mercury in 2022.
“To be in court with Diana, to be in the same sentence – it’s unimaginable,” Charles said.
Charles now has 184 career double-doubles, second in WNBA history and 10 shy of retired center Sylvia Foles’ record of 193. Charles’ 3,876 rebounds are second only to Fowles’ record of 4,006.
Chosen No. 1 overall by Connecticut in 2010, Charles was named league MVP while with the Suns in 2012, despite not playing in 2020 (medical exemption during the COVID-19 pandemic) and he reached these milestones in 2023. 2022 season between Phoenix and Seattle.
Although Charles turned 35 in December, Dream coach Tanisha Wright — Charles’ teammate for three seasons with the New York Liberty — and general manager Don Badover felt he was still an impact player and signed him as a free agent in February.
The injury-plagued Dream slipped into the Olympic break, losing eight straight games and falling to 7-17. Now, with players like 3×3 Olympic bronze medalists Ryne Howard and Jordin Canada healthy and in the starting lineup, Atlanta is 10-17 behind the Chicago Sky for the last playoff spot.
“Really good teams are very consistent in who they are,” Charles said. “We were consistent [tonight]. Defending, attacking, sharing the ball, celebrating each other.”
Asked how she would celebrate herself, Charles shrugged and said, “I don’t.”
Wright jumps in: “She’s definitely going to have a beer tonight. She’s going home and having a beer, sitting in her hammock and listening to some Caribbean music.”
Charles agreed.
“Yes, that’s true,” she said. “But … I think when I’m really done [playing]You take it differently. I am grateful to be surrounded by a great group of women. To see Alisha Gray develop, along with Ryan Howard, to influence them. I think that’s what’s most important to me right now in my life.”
