Phoenix Mercury sign 2021 WNBA leading scorer Tina Charles

The Phoenix Mercury continue to load up their roster with big names ahead of the 2022 season.

The team announced Friday the signing of former Washington Mystics center Tina Charles.

Charles was the WNBA’s leading scorer in 2021, averaging a career high 23.4 points per game. She shot 45% from the field and 36.5% from long range, another career best.

It marked the second time Charles has won the scoring title, with the first being in 2016.

“Tina is an elite talent in our league and adding a player of her caliber is another example of our commitment to our fans and players to pursue a championship every year,” Mercury GM Jim Pitman said in a press release Friday. “Tina has made it clear that she wants to win and wants to do so in Phoenix.

“For us, this move is about adding absolute top-end talent into our frontcourt which already features what we consider the most dominant player in the game in (Brittney Griner) and the league’s best defender in Brianna Turner. We expect to be able to play all three fewer minutes which should benefit us in the playoffs.”

Charles heads to Phoenix already posting an impressive career that includes eight All-Star appearances, three Olympic gold medals and nine All-WNBA selections, five of which were first team nods.

The center entered the league as the No. 1 pick by the Connecticut Sun in the 2010 WNBA Draft. She made her presence felt right away, earning Rookie of the Year honors.

After four seasons that included two All-Star game nods and a WNBA MVP in 2012, Charles was traded just before the 2014 WNBA Draft to the New York Liberty. In her five seasons with the Liberty, Charles was named an All-Star four times.

In 2020, she was traded to the Mystics and was medically excused from the shortened season before returning to action in 2021. On top of her league-leading scoring, Charles averaged 9.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists over 33.3 minutes per game.

The signing of Charles is the latest move Phoenix has made in bolstering its roster ahead of the 2022 season.

After hiring Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard more than a week ago, Phoenix has stayed busy on the roster construction front.

On Monday, the Mercury cleared up cap space by sending Kia Vaughn to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for a third-round draft pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft. The following day, Phoenix re-signed wing Sophie Cunningham, who posted career highs in scoring (5.6), rebounding (2.0) and assists (1.1) last season.

Then came Thursday’s three-team sign-and-trade with the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever to acquire 2018 third overall pick Diamond DeShields. The guard averaged 11.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 2021.

The latest acquisitions and signings join a talented Mercury core that includes point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, center Brittney Griner and the anticipated return of future Hall of Famer Diana Taurasi.

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