Aug 26, 2021
Mechelle VoepelESPN.com
CloseMechelle Voepel covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball, and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
Washington Mystics center Tina Charles, who leads the WNBA in scoring at 25.4 points per game, is expected to miss the next three to five games due to a left gluteal strain.
She suffered the injury Sunday in an 85-78 loss to Seattle. That was the game that saw the return of two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne to the Mystics for the first time since the final game of the 2019 playoffs, as she has been dealing with back issues. It’s the only time so far that Charles and Delle Donne have played together for the Mystics. For health reasons, neither competed in 2020 in the WNBA’s bubble in Bradenton, Florida. Charles was obtained via trade with New York before last season.
Charles, an MVP candidate averaging 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists, missed Tuesday’s 78-68 Mystics victory over Los Angeles.
Washington has nine regular-season games left, starting with Dallas on Thursday. The Mystics are currently in 10th place at 9-14, just behind the Wings and the Los Angeles Sparks, who are both 10-14.
Charles, 32, was the 2012 league MVP and is an eight-time All-Star. She was the 2010 No. 1 draft pick and WNBA Rookie of the Year out of UConn, where she won two NCAA titles.
Charles has won Olympic gold with the U.S. team in 2012, ’16 and earlier this month in Tokyo.