WNBA’s Tina Charles thought her career was over, then the Atlanta Dream called

Tina Charles is one of the greatest players to ever touch a WNBA court. She and Tamika Catchings are the only two players who are in the WNBA’s top five for both all-time scoring and rebounding. An MVP, three-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time All-Star, Charles was a member of the WNBA 25th anniversary team, highlighting 25 of the league’s greatest players.

Then, 2022 happened.

Charles joined the Phoenix Mercury on a “super team” lineup that featured Skylar Diggins-Smith, Diana Taurasi, Diamond DeShields and Brittney Griner.

The new look Phoenix Mercury are loaded with some of the best to ever do it…

Brittney Griner + Diana Taurasi
Tina Charles + Diamond DeShields
Skylar Diggins-Smith = WNBA Super Team❗ pic.twitter.com/SzRGccQZwB

— The SportsInfluencer (Jabari Johnson) (@HeadsUpSI) February 6, 2022

The team ended up being a disaster. Griner was arrested and detained in Russian custody for 10 months. The available group didn’t dominate the competition as expected, and the overall frustration was seen publicly when Diggins-Smith and Taurasi argued on the bench during a game in Las Vegas.

Charles ended up leaving the team in June 2022.

“Me, personally, I don’t think this is the place to discuss [what happened],” Charles told rolling out on April 29. “But for me, personally, [I was] just trying to win a championship. That’s the most I can say.”

She ended up signing with the Seattle Storm, where she finished the season. Still, only a season after averaging over 23 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game for the Washington Mystics in 2021, it appeared Charles couldn’t quite adapt quickly enough within the Storm’s offense to push the team to a championship. Then 33 years old, Charles averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for Seattle, a career-low average for points in 18 games with the Storm.

In 2023, no team signed Charles.

“Last year, I thought I was retired,” Charles said. “Mentally, emotionally, I put myself in that mode of retirement, but God worked things out.”

This past offseason, Charles received a call from Atlanta general manager Dan Padover, who worked with Charles as the former vice president of basketball operations with the New York Liberty.

“We knew she was available and potentially looking at coming back to play,” Padover told rolling out. “We thought it was the right fit for her and us. Overall, I think we’re both meeting each other at the right time.

“We had a need for professionalism, scoring and consistency,” Padover continued. “Tina wanted to find a home where she was comfortable. Her familiarity with [Atlanta Dream head coach and Charles’ former teammate Tanisha Wright] and myself — plus being in a great city like Atlanta — I think all the stars aligned for everyone involved.”

Now 35 years old, Charles opened training camp with her new team and led the pack during sprinting drills. She repeatedly made post-scoring look effortless against the Dream’s practice team comprised of local Atlanta men.

Classic @tinacharles31 pic.twitter.com/D6vUnwDzhT

— Armchair Hawks (@ArmchairHawks) April 29, 2024

“I’m still the same Tina,” Charles said. “Nothing has changed for me. I took a year off, but nothing has changed for me offensively [or] defensively. I think there’s more for me as a person knowing how to do things and how to go about things — but outside of that, everything’s the same.”

Like Candace Parker, Charles said she doesn’t want a farewell tour for whenever her final season is. While she was candid and said she doesn’t feel like basketball fans fully appreciated her game, the past year taught her things will always come in due time and continues to place all of her trust in the Lord. How she wants fans to celebrate her is to continue to grow the outreach and support of the WNBA and also note her off-the-court contributions like her Hopey Heart Foundation, where she makes automated external defibrillators (AEDs) more accessible and promotes heart health and education to the general public.

On the court this season — next to the likes of Atlanta’s current all-star trio of Rhyne Howard, Cheyenne Parker and Allisha Gray, along with Jordin Canada and Aerial Powers and the projected leaps second-year players Haley Jones and Laeticia Amihere — the Dream are a sleeper contender.

“Keep your eyes on Atlanta,” Charles said. “I think we’re going to do some things that [will] shock a lot of people in this league.”