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When it's all said and done, Tina Charles will be one of the greatest to ever play in the WNBA. 

Charles is currently fourth in all-time points (7,371) and will likely surpass Tamika Catchings (7,380) for third this month. She's also on track to overtake Tina Thompson (7,488) for second overall by the end of the season. 

Despite being one of the all-time greats in the league, Charles is without a championship. 

Just a few seasons ago, winning a title was Charles' main goal. It was the reason she left the New York Liberty after six seasons. It was the reason she joined the Washington Mystics in 2021 and then the Phoenix Mercury in 2022. And when the drama in Arizona became too much, it was the reason she left for Seattle in what would be Sue Bird's last WNBA season. 

By the close of the 2022 season, Charles and the Seattle Storm lost a grueling battle with the Las Vegas Aces. Charles again was subject to criticism, of disrupting team chemistry in her pursuit of a title. Bird, though, came to her defense. 

"I don't think we get to the semis without her. I don't think we finish fourth without her," Bird said. "To add a player of her caliber, it's literally the only reason we got to where we got." 

If Charles agreed, we'll never know. Charles was not interviewed by media during Storm exit interviews and skipped the 2023 WNBA season altogether. The nine-time WNBA All-Star scored only two points in 23 minutes in what she thought was the last game of her career. 

"I was retired. To me, I was I was done playing," Charles told CBS Sports. "But I knew I still had love for the game." 

Or, at least she thought she still loved the game. Charles described the 2022 offseason as time to be still. 

"The time I had off, it was just personal to me," Charles said. "I was moving around a lot and I just wanted to get back to being still–– to make sure I still love the game, to make sure this is something I still want to do." 

Eventually, the former first overall draft pick got moving again, and the road led back to China.  

"I love China, I played five years in China," Charles said. 

Now 34, Charles has returned to the WNBA after taking the 2023 season off. And she is not on the Storm, or the Liberty, or the Sun, or the back-to-back champion Las Vegas Aces. Charles is with the Dream, a team grasping onto playoff position. 

So, why Atlanta?

A Dream Deferred?

As her season in Shanghai began to wind down, Charles heard from her agent. A WNBA team was interested in signing her. It was the Dream. 

"It just felt great to have the opportunity to be with [Wright], one of my teammates for the last for three years in New York," Charles said. 

"So I knew it was going to be a good opportunity," Charles said.  "My agent had reached out to me just about Atlanta where [head coach Tanisha Wright] and [general manager Dan Padover] were and what they wanted to do, and we had a conversation and for me, it just felt great to have the opportunity to be with Tanisha. ... She's a big sis and it's just someone who knew me inside and out." 

Wright is in her third year as head coach of the Dream, where she reunited with Padover. The trio all crossed paths in New York and that was a huge selling point for Charles. Her "be still" time was over, and on the other side of it, her perspective on the game and her goals shifted. 

"Pursuit of a championship, I don't have as much pressure on it," Charles said. 

Charles joined a young team and one that can perhaps make a championship run in the future, but likely not this year and not without more work to mature and refine the team culture and dynamics. 

"The role that Tanisha needed for me having a vet on that team, being able to help guide Rhyne Howard, that was more exciting for me versus what I was trying to attain on the prior teams," Charles said. "It was just the impact on that I'll be able to have on others."

In the past, Charles has had a lot of the burden as a scorer. It's a role she can play, but her stops in Washington, Phoenix and Seattle were meant to be a departure from carrying a heavy workload. Due a series of unfortunate events -- injuries to Elena Delle Donne, Brittney Griner's detainment in Russia and Mercedes Russell's injury in Seattle -- Charles was once again the option instead of an option. 

Charles' focus on leadership and mentorship is curious, especially given the criticism she received before her reset last season. However, she does not attribute her change of perspective to outside narratives. 

"I'm not gonna say that I was not all of that on prior teams, but just to be around a young group -- because of the person I am and the player I am -- is partly because it seems right," Charles said. "Tanisha was the best teammate that I've ever been with, and it wasn't just about on the court, but off the court. So collectively, with where she was, how I'll be able to help and be there for her, that was of importance."

Even if they were subconsciously, there is a level of peace and contentment to Charles this season. The proximity to retirement perhaps gave Charles a renewed perspective and a new role than what her coach saw in her during their Liberty days. 

"Oh yeah, it's a lot different," Wright told CBS Sports. "Tina didn't have to do much leading in New York. She had to just focus on playing. And you know, when you have players of her caliber, you want to put them in positions to do what they do best, and what Tina does best is score to basketball, play basketball." 

It's worth noting Wright last played with Charles in the 2017 season, the last winning year for the Liberty before current head coach Sandy Brondello got the team to a .800 winning percentage for the first time in franchise history. Charles endured a relocation to a 3,000-seat venue and a cumulative two-year record of 17-51 before leaving for Washington. Charles did not compete in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic due to a preexisting health condition, and by the time she returned, Delle Donne was out with injury. 

Charles was a leader on those Liberty teams, but in a very different way than Wright and Liberty legends like Swin Cash, Shavonte Zellous and Epiphanny Prince. 

"This is definitely an area for her of growth because now she's the most experienced player," Wright said. "She's the one who has to be impactful every night and help bring along some younger kids, along with even more experienced kids, but not as experienced as she is."

Thriving as a Veteran

Both Charles and Wright labeled their relationship as somewhat of a sisterhood. Charles has always seen Wright as a big sister, and in true big sister fashion, Wright admitted she knows how to push Charles' buttons.

"It's like any other relationship with a coach and a player, expectations from both sides. So that that hasn't changed much," Wright said. "The only thing that's changed is we know each other very well. I would say I probably know a little bit more which buttons to push to get her at the level that she expects and that that we need in order for us to play well." 

In other words, Charles trusts and respects Wright to challenge her at the right times -- in the right ways. This season, that's all about being a good teammate and leader. And it's something Charles has embraced. 

"I think she's being more verbal now, and that leadership, so I think she's doing a good job," Wright said. "She needs to continue down that path."

And her mentorship as extended beyond the Dream. Charles has been a mentor on and off the court to rookie post players like Cameron Brink and Angel Reese, the latter of which surpassed Charles' rookie record of seven consecutive double-doubles and now holds the record for most consecutive double-doubles in league history. 

"I think they've been handling themselves with a lot of maturity with a lot of professionalism," Charles said of the rookies. "When I first came into league, I had vets that would mention what I should be doing on the court, what I can be doing better. And so for me, I'm just paying it forward. That's always been me, with post teammates that I've had -- coming in early and working out with them or showing them a move or two. But it's always really great for just where I am in my career." 

And where is she in her career?

Charles walked back from the doors of retirement at least once before returning to the WNBA. As for now, Charles is taking everything in stride. In addition to basketball, Charles has dabbled in filmmaking. She made her Tribeca Film Festival debut in 2019 with the film "Charlie's Records." 

The documentary is about Tina's father, Rawlston Charles, an immigrant from Tobago who settled into the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. with the mission to promote calypso music. Her second film, the 17-minute short called "Game Changer," tells the story of Chicago gamer Tanya DePass and her determination to make the gaming industry more inclusive. 

"Storytelling and production is still very much of an importance of me of mine," Charles said. "Right now, I haven't been actively doing any projects. I've just been focusing on me. So that's been more important for me right now."

However, Charles has seen the rise in other current and former WNBA players producing and directing films about women's sports, and it's something on her radar. 

"Yeah, I definitely have definitely has seen the involvement," Charles said. "If the opportunity does arise for me, I definitely would want to be involved in some way."

As for her own story, Charles wants to be known as someone who is humble, content and always putting God first. 

And regarding basketball, it's more of the same. Charles the frontcourt player -- just like Charles the director -- isn't retired. Rather, she's resting and reflecting. 

"It's something I think about a lot," Charles admitted. "I'm praying on it all. I think I'll know when the right time is. It's not something that I'm forcing ... but as long as I'm still needed, as long as I feel engaged and love the process of the game, love coming in early. For things for my body, I'm getting shots up, I'll always be around."

Charles leads the Dream in rebounds per game (8.8) and is a top three in average points and minutes per alongside Allisha Gray and Howard. It's safe to say the Queens, N.Y. native is still needed.