Tina Charles

Tina Alexandria Charles (born December 5, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Charles was the leading scorer on the Christ the King team that won 57 consecutive games, leading to a USA Today #1 ranking in the country after an undefeated season in 2006.

Charles was named a WBCA All-American.

She participated in the 2006 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored fifteen points and had twelve rebounds.

Charles was named the MVP of the Red team.

During high school, Charles also played on the AAU club basketball team the New York Gazelles.

In 2009 and 2010, she and teammate Maya Moore led the Connecticut Huskies to two undefeated national championships.

She has won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA.

Charles is considered by many to be the best player in WNBA history not to have appeared in the Finals.

Charles played basketball at Christ the King High School in Middle Village, New York.

After averaging 26.5 points, 14.8 rebounds and 5.2 blocked shots per game her senior year, she was named WBCA National Player of the Year, "Miss Basketball" for New York state, and was selected as a McDonald's All-American and tabbed New York City Player of the Year by Newsday, the Daily News and the New York Post.

In 2009, Charles led the UConn Huskies to a national title as a junior.

She was named Final Four MOP and one of the 10 players on the State Farm All-America team during Final Four weekend.

Charles made a comment to ESPN during a post-championship interview, in regards to the tradition of sports champions who visit the White House after their title game victories.

She said, "Barack Obama, we will be here soon!"

Originally from Jamaica, Queens, New York City, Charles was drafted first overall in the 2010 WNBA draft by the Connecticut Sun.

and after the 2010 championship she made a comment, "President Barack Obama, we're back!"

On February 13, 2010, before the game vs. St. John's, Charles became the 12th UConn Women's basketball player to be recognized in the Huskies of Honor and was the 2nd player to be honored while still a player.

The first was Renee Montgomery the year before.

On March 1, 2010, during a game against Notre Dame, Charles broke two UConn records on the same night.

Her fifth rebound made her the all-time leading rebounder at UConn, surpassing Rebecca Lobo's fifteen-year-old record of 1268.

Lobo was present working as a commentator for ESPN, and interviewed Charles after the game.

Additionally, Charles started the night in third place in career scoring, behind Kerry Bascom and Nykesha Sales.

Sales had scored 2,178 points and Bascom 2,177 in their careers.

During the game, Charles surpassed both to become the leading scorer in UConn history.

Charles was named the Big East Conference Player of the Year for 2010.

Charles majored in psychology with a minor in criminal justice.

She anticipates working in corrections at the close of her basketball career.

In 2010, she spent six hours a week as an intern at Bergin Correctional Institution, helping prisoners adjust back to life in society.

Charles was the overall #1 pick in the 2010 WNBA draft, selected by the Connecticut Sun.

Charles was named the 2010 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

On September 2, 2011, Tina Charles had 10 points, 10 assists and 16 rebounds for the first triple-double in Connecticut Sun history, and only the fifth such accomplishment in WNBA history.

Charles had eight assists at halftime, and was taken out of the game with nine, because the lead over the opponent was so large.

The coach did put her back in the game in the fourth quarter, and she earned an assist on a pass to Jessica Moore, leading to the triple double.

However, subsequent review by the league resulted in a change, as three of the assists should not have been credited to Charles, so she ended the game with seven assists, not ten.

On August 18, 2012, Charles recorded nine rebounds in an 85–74 win over the Liberty.

One of the rebounds in the second quarter pushed her career total to 1,000.

She accomplished this milestone faster than any other WNBA player in history.

In her first season, she set all-time league records for rebounds, with 398 (a record that has since been broken by Jonquel Jones in 2017), and double-doubles with 22.

(both scoring and rebounds in double digits).