Atlanta Dream center Tina Charles sank a tiebreaking 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter on Wednesday to become the second-leading scorer in WNBA history.
Charles assisted on two of the Dream’s next four baskets and finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds as Atlanta beat the Phoenix Mercury 72-63 in College Park, Ga.
The 35-year-old UConn product ended the night with 7,491 career points, three more than Tina Thompson compiled with the Houston Comets (1997-2008), Los Angeles Sparks (2009-11) and Seattle Storm (2012-13).
Charles was selected first overall in the 2010 draft by the Connecticut Sun, for whom she played four seasons. She won Rookie of the Year in 2010 and was selected the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2012.
She subsequently played for the New York Liberty (2014-19), Washington Mystics (2021), Phoenix Mercury (2022) and Seattle (2022) before sitting out last season. Charles is in her first season with Atlanta.
Charles was part of gold-medal-winning U.S. women’s teams at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
The only player now ahead of her on the WNBA’s career scoring list also was on the floor Wednesday. Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi, 42, finished with three points, boosting her total to 10,500.
“To hear my name in the (same) sentence as Diana is unimaginable, what she’s meant to me personally, this league, her impact,” Charles said postgame, according to The Athletic. “She’s definitely the GOAT. I’m just thankful.”
–Field Level Media