NBC Sports host Maria Taylor’s chemistry with WNBA icons-turned-analysts Cheryl Miller and Sue Bird has been on full display lately, including this outrageously funny TikTok. Enter: Tina Charles.
On Thursday, NBC Sports announced Charles is joining its WNBA studio team of Bird, Miller, Taylor, and LaChina Robinson. NBC Sports listed Charles as “a feature contributor.”
Charles retired from the WNBA in May after an all-time great, 14-year WNBA career. The Connecticut Sun selected her No. 1 out of UConn in the 2010 WNBA Draft, and she won WNBA Rookie of the Year before winning WNBA MVP in 2012. The eight-time All-Star center made “The W25” as one of the 25 most significant players in the WNBA’s first 25 years.
“Growing up, I watched the NBA on NBC, so joining NBC Sports is truly a full-circle moment for me,” Charles said in a statement. “It’s even more meaningful to be part of NBC’s return to the WNBA, a league that has given me so much throughout my career. I’m excited to stay connected to the game I love, share a player’s perspective, and help tell the stories that make this league so special. I’m grateful to join such an incredible team.”
Before joining the NBC Sports team, Charles played for six WNBA teams: the Sun, the New York Liberty, the Washington Mystics, the Phoenix Mercury, the Seattle Storm, and the Atlanta Dream.
“Few players have impacted the game of basketball the way Tina Charles has throughout her remarkable career,” Betsy Riley, Senior Vice President and Coordinating Producer, WNBA, NBC Sports, said in a statement. “And her work as a philanthropist and documentary filmmaker reflects her commitment to making an impact beyond the court. We look forward to sharing her unique perspective with our viewers.”
Charles’ debut is set for Monday, Aug. 24, when the Atlanta Dream play the Los Angeles Sparks on NBC Sports and Peacock.
About Megan Armstrong
Since first getting published as a student by the Kansas City Star in 2013, Megan Armstrong has gone wherever curiosity and stories have taken her, specializing in sports, media, music, and culture coverage. She also has an extensive background in interviewing and profiling public figures. Her work has appeared in Billboard, Boardroom, Bleacher Report, Esquire, GQ, GRAMMY.com, NYLON, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, The Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX, and elsewhere.