Charles’ return to the league this season proved to be a smart one for her in the record books

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Atlanta Dream center Tina Charles is now the No. 2 leading scorer all-time in WNBA history. Charles passed Hall of Famer Tina Thompson on Wednesday in the fourth quarter of the Dream’s win 72-63 win over the Phoenix Mercury.

Charles entered the evening with 7,479 career points, just nine short of Thompson’s mark. She registered six points in the first two quarters and finished the job in the fourth with a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Diana Taurasi’s No. 1 spot is still significantly far away as the Mercury star is nearly 3,000 points ahead.

Charles finished the game with 12 points and 17 rebounds.

Charles is a headache for her opponents in the paint and currently sits No. 2 behind Sylvia Fowles’ 4,006 career rebounds in the WNBA all-time rebounding list. She entered Wednesday’s game with a total of 3,859 boards, and added eight of more in the first two quarters against the Mercury.

Charles was a two-time NCAA champion with the UConn Huskies before being selected No. 1 overall by the Connecticut Sun in the 2010 WNBA Draft. She went on to win Rookie of the Year, and two years later was named the 2012 MVP.  The eight-time All-Star became an unanimous selection for the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year.

She did not play for a WNBA team in 2023, but she signed with Atlanta in February. Despite the Dream sitting toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, Charles’ return to the league has proven to be a good decision as this season she is averaging 14 points and over eight rebounds per contest.

“I thought I was retired… But God had a plan,” Charles said in an interview with The Next earlier this season.