Connecticut Sun’s Tina Charles Passes Diana Taurasi for WNBA Milestone

It didn’t take long for Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles to achieve yet another career milestone for her illustrious WNBA career.

Entering Wednesday’s game with the Chicago Sky, Charles was second on the league’s all-time list in made field goals with 3,339. She was just two field goals behind the legendary Diana Taurasi, who is the league’s all-time leading scorer and did so on 3,341 made field goals.

It didn’t take Charles long to get going. She started her scoring with a 17-foot jump shot to close within one of Taurasi. She tied the legend with a hook shot off a Lindsey Allen assist and then passed her a possession later on a layup assisted by Marina Mabrey.

After passing Taurasi, Charles had 3,342 field goals and counting as the Sun had three more quarters to play with the Sky. Taurasi was second, followed by Nneka Ogwumike (2,859), Candice Dupree (2,842), Tina Thompson (2,630), DeWanna Bonner (2,597), Sylvia Fowles (2,531), Sue Bird (2,479), Candace Parker (2,471) and Seimone Augustus (2,455).

Charles reached two other milestones in the last few weeks. The first was against the Chicago Sky during the Sun’s road trip to face Chicago in August. Charles finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the 94-84 win over the Sky. It was her 200th career double-double and she became the first player in league history to record 200 double-doubles for her career.

The other came before that in a contest against Washington and underscored her longevity. She moved into 10th place in all-time games played in WNBA history. She is behind Sue Bird (580), Diana Taurasi (565), Dewanna Bonner (526), Delisha Milton-Jones (499), Tina Thompson (496), Candice Dupree (494), Katie Smith (482), Lindsay Whalen (480) and Swin Cash (479).

Charles is also the WNBA’s all-time leading rebounder and one of only two players with more than 4,000 rebounds for her WNBA career. She is also the league’s second all-time leading scorer. She is behind only Taurasi.

The former UConn star was the Sun’s first round (No. 1 overall) pick in the 2010 WNBA draft. Her career took her to the New York Liberty (2014-19), the Washington Mystics (2021), the Phoenix Mercury (2022), the Seattle Storm (2023) and the Atlanta Dream (2024) before she returned to the Sun.

Charles will be heading to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame one day after she retires. She was the 2010 WNBA rookie of the year, the 2012 WNBA MVP, an eight-time WNBA all-star, a five-time all-WNBA first-team selection, a four-time all-WNBA second-team selection, a four-time all-WNBA defensive team selection, a four-time WNBA rebounding champion and a two-time WNBA scoring champion.

She was named to the league’s 25th anniversary team in 2021 and won national titles in the Turkish Super League and the Polish National League in international play. She’s also won three Olympic gold medals with the U.S. team in 2012, 2016 and 2020.