Tina Charles Surpasses Tina Thompson to Become WNBA's No. 2 All-Time Leading Scorer

Karl Rasmussen | Aug 22, 2024

Atlanta Dream center Tina Charles celebrates with her teammates. / Matthew Grimes Jr./Getty Images

Atlanta Dream center Tina Charles has etched her name in WNBA history, moving into the No. 2 spot on the league's all-time leading scorer list.

During Wednesday's matchup with the Phoenix Mercury, Charles hit a three-pointer in the third quarter that saw her tie Tina Thompson with 7,488 career points. Early in the fourth quarter, she broke the deadlock with Thompson by hitting another big three for her 12th point of the game.

Charles, 35, has played in 13 seasons since being drafted as the No. 1 pick in the 2010 WNBA draft out of UConn. She won WNBA MVP in 2012 and has featured in eight All-Star Games throughout her illustrious career.

THIS IS WHAT GREATNESS LOOKS LIKE ‼️

With her 12th point of the game, Tina Charles is now the 2nd all-time leading scorer in WNBA history with 7,491 PTS#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/t0DSbQ8thl

— WNBA (@WNBA) August 22, 2024

The league's all-time leading scorer was also on the court when Charles moved into second place. Mercury star and WNBA legend Diana Taurasi still holds a significant lead over Charles on the all-time scoring list, with 10,497 career points heading into Wednesday's matchup.

Charles is enjoying a comeback season in 2024 after not signing with a team in 2023. She flamed out of Phoenix unceremoniously in '22, before joining the Seattle Storm for a brief stint that included participating in the team's playoff run.

After missing the '23 campaign, Charles agreed to make the move to Atlanta, where she's started 26 games this season and has averaged 14.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.