Another night, another couple of records during this historic WNBA season. This time, it was future Hall of Famer Tina Charles, who became the league's all-time leading rebounder and set the all-time double-double mark during the Atlanta Dream's regular-season finale against the New York Liberty.
Heading into Thursday's matchup, Charles needed three rebounds to surpass Sylvia Fowles for first place on the rebounding list with 4,007. Charles took care of business quickly. Just a few minutes in, Charles went to work on the offensive glass and recovered a missed shot by Rhyne Howard.
Then, in the third quarter, Charles pulled down her 10th rebound of the game, which gave her the 195th double-double of her career. Ironically, Charles passed Fowles on that list as well, and now has her name atop two major categories.
Charles, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft, has been a rebounding machine ever since she entered the league. As a rookie, Charles pulled down 11.7 boards per game, which led the league and remains the fifth-highest single-season average ever. Her 398 rebounds that season remained the rookie record until this summer, when Angel Reese surpassed her.
During her 13 seasons in the league, Charles has led the league in rebounding four times, which is the most by any single player.
WNBA's all-time leading rebounders
| Player | Rebounds |
|---|---|
Tina Charles | 4,007 |
Sylvia Fowles | 4,006 |
Candace Parker | 3,467 |
Rebekkah Brunson | 3,356 |
Tamika Catchings | 3,316 |
After a disappointing 2022 season split between the Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm, Charles sat out of the 2023 season and was initially not planning on returning to the league.
"I was retired. To me, I was I was done playing," Charles told CBS Sports earlier this season. "But I knew I still had love for the game."
Eventually, Charles decided to make a return, and signed with the Dream, who are coached by Tanisha Wright, a former teammate from her New York Liberty days.
"So I knew it was going to be a good opportunity," Charles said. "My agent had reached out to me just about Atlanta where [head coach Tanisha Wright] and [general manager Dan Padover] were and what they wanted to do, and we had a conversation and for me, it just felt great to have the opportunity to be with Tanisha. ... She's a big sis and it's just someone who knew me inside and out."
Entering Thursday, Charles was averaging 15 points and 9.6 rebounds per game this season.