Tina Charles Retires from WNBA with Emotional Post, No. 1 Draft Pick Won 2012 MVP

Former league MVP and three-time Olympic gold medalist Tina Charles is retiring from basketball after 14 seasons in the WNBA.

Charles announced her decision in an emotional Tuesday post on social media.

Charles, who was selected by the Connecticut Sun with the No. 1 pick of the 2010 draft, finished out her career with the Sun in 2025.

She has collected two scoring titles and four rebounding titles to go alongside four All-Defensive Team nominations and nine All-WNBA nods.

Charles earned her MVP trophy in 2012 after leading the WNBA in rebounding for a third straight season and setting a Sun single-season scoring record with 18 points per game.

She will retire 14 years later as the WNBA's all-time leader both in career rebounds (4,262) and field goals (3,364) while ranking second only to Diana Taurasi with 8,396 career points.

Charles last recorded an All-Star season in 2021 with the Washington Mystics. The 37-year-old hit unrestricted free agency this offseason after leading the Sun with 16.3 points per game in 2025.

"Fifteen years at the professional level and a lifetime of love for this game. I've experienced the highest highs and lowest lows, and I'm thankful for all of it," Charles wrote in her retirement statement.

She continued, "At some point, you have to edit your life. Not everything and not everyone is meant for the whole journey.

"Growth requires honesty, and for me, that meant recognizing when my impact was being called in a new direction. That's not failure, that's clarity. I'm at peace with this decision."

The Sun went 11-33 in Charles' final season as a player. She finished out her WNBA career without a title in 14 seasons, most of which were spent with the Sun and New York Liberty in addition to brief stints with the Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury.

Prior to her pro career, Charles joined Maya Moore in leading UConn to back-to-back national titles in 2009 and 2010. She also helped Team USA win Olympic gold in 2012, 2016 and 2020.

Charles said in her social media post she was "making space for someone else to step in and grow the way I once did." The Sun will now look to build around their four first-round picks from the last two drafts before the franchise moves to Houston in 2027.