Tina Charles Is a W.N.B.A. Superstar Hiding in Plain Sight

“I think that eats at her,” Washington Mystics Coach Mike Thibault said. “I think she wants to re-establish that, ‘Look, I’m one of the top players and I can help a team win a championship.’ That was her big goal when she went to New York, and it didn’t work.”

Charles, who leveraged her franchise player status to get back to her hometown from the Connecticut Sun in 2014, was traded by the Liberty to the Washington Mystics earlier this year when the team hit a hard reset, liquidating almost all of its veteran talent.

Instead of winning a title at Madison Square Garden for the team she grew up watching, Charles had been relegated to playing at the 5,000-seat Westchester County Center after James L. Dolan put the Liberty up for sale in late 2017. Joe Tsai, who owns the N.B.A.’s Nets, purchased the Liberty, giving them a new home at Barclays. Along with a new general manager, chief executive and head coach, the Liberty now have a young, development-oriented roster framed around their 2020 No. 1 draft pick Sabrina Ionescu.

“I was very thankful to play for the hometown team. Not a lot of people get that opportunity,” Charles, 31, said in an interview. “That’s where I’m leaving it.”

The Liberty declined to comment on the trade, instead sharing a statement from their chief executive, Keia Clarke: “While she is no longer part of the team, her name will forever be synonymous with New York basketball.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/sports/basketball/tina-charles-liberty-mystics-wnba.html