Nine-time All-WNBA pick, 2021 WNBA leading scorer and 2012 MVP signs rest of season contract with Seattle
The Seattle Storm today announced the signing of free agent center Tina Charles to a rest of season contract. As per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are excited to add one of the premier players in our league to our roster,” said Storm head coach Noelle Quinn. “Tina is a prolific scorer who brings veteran experience and adds depth to our front court. We look forward to seeing the immediate impact she can make for our team.”
Charles is a nine-time All-WNBA selection including five times as a first-team pick, an eight-time all-star and was the 2012 WNBA MVP. She has been one of the WNBA’s top scorers over her 12 seasons in the league, leading the WNBA in scoring in 2016 and 2021 and ranking second all-time in 20+ point games with 164. Charles also ranks sixth in league history with 6,889 career points and is just seven shy of moving up to fifth on that list. In addition, Charles ranks second in career rebounds with 3,507, leading the league in rebounding four times and ranking in the top five in nine of 11 seasons in the league.
Charles averaged 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 blocks per game in 16 games this season with Phoenix. Last season, Charles posted some of the best numbers in her career, averaging a league-best 23.4 points per game while shooting 45% from the field, along with 9.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.9 blocks per game with the Washington Mystics. She connected on a career-high 50 three-pointers in 2021 and has made 24 so far this season, shooting 36.5% from beyond the arc in the two seasons combined.
Charles joined Storm teammates Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, and Jewell Loyd in helping the USA take home Olympic Gold in the 2020 Tokyo Games last year—her third gold medal (2012, 2016, 2020). With the addition of Charles, the Storm has seven players on its 11-person roster who played in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Charles was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft out of the University of Connecticut, earning 2010 WNBA Rookie of the Year honors with the Connecticut Sun after averaging 15.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Seattle now has four former UCONN players on its roster, accounting for eight of the Huskies’ 11 NCAA Championships as Charles, who was a two-time NCAA Champ in 2009 and 2010, joins Bird (2000, 2002), Stewart (2013-16) and Gabby Williams (2015-16).
Charles will be in uniform (wearing her familiar No. 31) and available when the Storm takes on the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday, June 29, at 7:00 p.m. at Climate Pledge Arena.
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