Tina Charles

American professional basketball player and center, one of the WNBA's most dominant players and two-time Olympic gold medalist with Team USA.

Tina Alexandria Charles was born on 5 December 1988 in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, to Rawlston Charles, from Trinidad and Tobago, and Angella Murry, from Jamaica, and grew up steeped in community service through her family's church. Annual childhood trips to Jamaica exposed her to poverty from a young age, instilling a lifelong commitment to charitable giving that she carried into her professional career, including donating half her WNBA salary in both 2014 and 2015 to a foundation providing defibrillators to schools. Charles starred at Christ the King High School before leading the UConn Huskies to back-to-back undefeated national championships in 2009 and 2010 alongside teammate Maya Moore, finishing as the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. The Connecticut Sun selected her first overall in the 2010 WNBA Draft. Charles developed into one of the most dominant post players of her generation, winning three Olympic gold medals with Team USA and playing extensively overseas in Turkey, Poland, and China between WNBA seasons. In 2024, she became just the second player in WNBA history to reach 7,600 career points. Charles was inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024, becoming the first woman to head a class at any major basketball hall of fame and the first active player ever inducted. Beyond basketball, she has directed two documentary films that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, continuing to compete into her late thirties across a well-travelled international career.

Physical post player with excellent rebounding and scoring

One of WNBA's greatest centers and prolific scorers

• Olympic Gold 2016, 2020
• WNBA MVP 2012
• WNBA Scoring Champion x3