Tina Charles No. 31 to be retired by Sun on Tuesday, Aug. 25

Connecticut’s Tina Charles had a game-high 27 points in a 2025 game against Dallas in Uncasville.

The final Connecticut Sun player to be honored as a Sun legend with her number being retired into the rafters of the Mohegan Sun Arena will be Tina Charles on Tuesday, Aug. 25, when the Sun host the Chicago Sky at 7 p.m.

In the final season in Uncasville before moving to Houston next summer, the Sun have been honoring legendary players from their 23 seasons in Connecticut. Jonquel Jones (35), Alyssa Thomas (25) and Jasmine Thomas (5) were honored earlier this year with former head coach and GM Curt Miller.

Charles, the WNBA’s all-time rebounding leader and one of the most decorated players in league history, was selected first overall by Connecticut in the 2010 WNBA draft. She began her professional career with the Sun, playing four seasons from 2010–13, before returning to finish her career in Connecticut during the 2025 season.

“To be named a Connecticut Sun Legend is something I honestly never imagined, and I’m just incredibly grateful,” Tina Charles remarked. “It’s such a full-circle moment because everything started for me in Connecticut, and now this chapter ends here too.

“When I think about this honor, I think about the people who made it possible — my teammates, coaches, the front office, and especially the fans who embraced me from day one. Connecticut became home, and it helped shape not only the player I became, but the woman I am today. To be remembered this way means more than I can put into words, and I’ll always be thankful for everything Connecticut has given me,” she said.

Fresh off a legendary collegiate career at UConn, Charles wasted no time establishing herself at the professional level. She earned 2010 Rookie of the Year honors, along with All-Rookie Team recognition and her first Peak Performer award in rebounding, signaling the start of a dominant run.

Charles’ first stint in Connecticut was defined by elite production and consistent excellence. A two-time All-WNBA First Team selection (2011, 2012) and a Second Team honoree (2010, 2013), she quickly became one of the league’s most dominant frontcourt forces.

In 2012, Charles delivered one of the greatest seasons in franchise history, averaging 18.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, in route to WNBA MVP honors. That season, she also secured her third consecutive peak rebounding title and led the Sun to a 25–9 record and the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Tina Charles playing with the Sun in her first time with the team from 2010-14.

During that run, Charles earned WNBA All-Defensive Second Team honors, her second consecutive after winning in 2011, further demonstrating her two-way dominance.

Charles’ consistency and dominance earned her 11 WNBA Player of the Week titles, three Player of the Month honors, three Peak Performer (rebounds) awards, and WNBA All-Star nods in 2011 and 2013.

She played four seasons with the Sun before getting traded to New York in 2014 – a deal that brought a young Alyssa Thomas to Connecticut. Charles spent six seasons with the Liberty (2014-19) before stints with Washington (2021), Seattle (2022), Phoenix (2022) and Atlanta (2024) before coming back to the Sun in 2025.

A three-time Olympic gold medal champion, Charles was the best player on the floor for the Sun in 2025, starting a career-high 42 games and averaging 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds at the age of 36.

In her 15th season in the WNBA, she was a teacher and role model for a young Sun team rebuilding after the departure of their entire starting lineup from the season before.

She is No. 2 all-time in WNBA in scoring (8,396 points) behind Diana Taurasi and No. 1 in rebounds (4262) and field goals (3364)

Charles has been equally impactful in the community. She was a two-time recipient of the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award, earning the honor in 2012 as an emerging star and again in 2025 as a veteran leader, proving her lasting influence both on and off the court.

Charles’ No. 31 will join current Sun Legends Jonquel Jones (35), Alyssa Thomas (25), Jasmine Thomas (5), Taj McWilliams-Franklin (11), Margo Dydek (12), Nykesha Sales (42), Katie Douglas (23), Lindsay Whalen (13), Asjha Jones (15), and Curt Miller in the rafters at Mohegan Sun Arena.