South Atlanta News

Atlanta Dream center Tina Charles moved to second place on the WNBA’s All-Time Leading Scoring list during Wednesday’s game against the Phoenix Mercury. Charles passed forward Tina Thompson with a three-pointer in the fourth quarter.

A 12-year member of the league, Charles joined the Dream as a free agent in February, and the first overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft has continued to add to her storied career. Thompson previously held the second spot on the table with 7,488 points, but Charles eclipsed that total in 417 games, outpacing Thompson by 79 games.

“Tina’s game is truly timeless,” said Atlanta Dream General Manager Dan Padover. “Having witnessed over 3,500 of Tina’s points firsthand what has always impressed me most is her consistency. From the moment she stepped into the league in 2010, Tina has been the ultimate competitor, pushing to give everything she had night in and night out. Tina is obviously a once-in-a-WNBA-history talent but her ability to show up in every single game she played in is why she is reaching this historic WNBA milestone.”

During her 2024 campaign, Charles averages 14 points and 8.4 rebounds per game and recorded 10 double-doubles on the season. Starting all 26 games this season, Charles has scored in double digits in 20 games, leading the Dream in scoring on six occasions. On Aug. 16, Charles recorded her 3,000th career field goal against the Seattle Storm, where she scored a game-winning shot to cap off a 16-point performance.

Charles tallied her nearly 7,500 points with stops in Connecticut, New York, Phoenix, Seattle and Washington. She has scored more than 30 points in 23 games during her career and ranks second all-time with 78 games scoring 25 or more points. She trails only Diana Taurasi (10,497 points) on the All-Time Scoring list.

The 2012 WNBA Most Valuable Player has received nine All-WNBA Selections, including five First-Team nominations. An eight-time WNBA All-Star, Charles was named to four All-Defensive Teams and three US Olympic Teams where she earned gold medals in 2012, 2016 and 2021. Charles was unanimously selected as the 2010 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

Established in Atlanta in 2006, the Atlanta Dream is the Southeast’s only WNBA franchise playing its home games at Gateway Center Arena @ College Park. Dream games are telecast locally on Peachtree TV and simulcast on Peachtree Sports Network across Georgia. Since its inception into professional basketball competition for women back then till now they have produced numerous stars such as eleven-time star appearances along other notable achievements like winning regular-season titles thrice while making it nine times playoffs qualifiers thus far coupled alongside reaching finals thrice within same period too thereby cementing their status among elite clubs nationwide today.