As a child, Lisa Leslie knew she was destined for stardom. In an interview with The New York Times, she recounted a story about how she started signing her name on all the paper around the house when she was seven. When her mother asked her why, she simply replied, “‘Because I want to give out autographs.’ I just told her I was going to be famous.” Leslie would go on to become one of the greatest players the WNBA ever had the luck to witness.
Standing at a statuesque 6 feet 5 inches, Leslie was the first player ever to dunk in the WNBA, and is a three-time WNBA MVP and four-time Olympic gold medal winner. After a successful career at women's collegiate basketball powerhouse the University of Southern California (USC), she went on to be an eight-time WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA champion over the course of 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks before retiring in 2009. She also played in two FIBA world championships.
Leslie was born in 1972 in Compton, California. She picked up basketball in middle school and gained confidence in her game after transferring in eighth grade to a junior high school that didn’t have a girls’ team, which forced her to join the boys’ team. After enrolling at Morningside High School in Inglewood, she started in every game for the girls’ varsity team and in 1990 wound up tying Cheryl Miller for the national record for most points scored in a single game by a high school basketball player. Leslie scored 101 points, all in the first half. After that, the game was officially ended when her opponents refused to continue playing.
At USC, Leslie played in a total of 120 games and led the team to an 89-31 overall record and four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. She won a myriad of awards, including the Naismith College Player of the Year award, the USBWA Women's National Player of the Year award, the Honda Sports Award for basketball, and the WBCA Player of the Year award. She earned All-American Honors as well in 1992, 1993, and 1994.
Leslie joined the WNBA in 1997, anchoring her hometown team, the Los Angeles Sparks. She played for twelve seasons, during which she led the Sparks to WNBA championships in 2001 and 2002. She is also a three-time All-Star MVP, two-time finals MVP, two-time defensive player of the year, and the first player to score 6,000 points. She is currently the head coach for the Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando Magic broadcasts on Fox Sports Florida. She also a realtor and co-founder of a sports and entertainment real-estate firm named Aston Rose.