Tina Charles took the No. 2 spot on theWNBA 's career rebounds list.- When reflecting on the feat, the
Washington Mystics star poked fun at her college coach at UConn. - "That just goes out to Coach Auriemma, who always told me I was the worst rebounder," Charles said.
Tina Charles has long been one of the WNBA's greats, and now she's playing her way into the league's record books.
The Washington Mystics superstar recently overtook retired Lynx legend Rebekkah Brunson for second place on the WNBA's career rebounds list. Now, after pulling down a whopping 16 boards against the Atlanta Dream, Charles sits just over 300 rebounds behind Sylvia Fowles for the top spot.
It's a major accomplishment for the eight-time WNBA All-Star, who admitted that she was motivated by skeptics of her rebounding ability - namely her former college coach,
"That just goes out to Coach Auriemma, who always told me I was the worst rebounder," Charles said after the game. "That's more so for him."
Auriemma is widely considered one of the greatest basketball minds in the game, but he was way off target with that assessment. Not only has Charles found success on the glass at the professional level, but she finished her career as the Huskies' all-time rebounding leader.
Even with superstars like Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, and Napheesa Collier coming onto Auriemma's team after her and absolutely dominating the
Still, Charles is remarkably humble about it all.
"As a post player, that's your job," Charles said following her 16-rebound showing against the Dream. Then she chuckled, adding: "Tonight, most of those offensive rebounds came was me missing shots and putting it back up."
Check out her candid interview from the night below:
-WNBA (@WNBA) September 11, 2021