WNBA pioneer and Los Angeles Sparks legend Lisa Leslie was honored last week with the unveiling of a bronze statue outside Crypto.com Arena, becoming the 16th sports and entertainment figure commemorated in Star Plaza. Leslie is the first woman athlete honored with a statue outside the arena.
“I am beyond happy with how beautiful The First Lady looks because they listened to me,” the three-time MVP said. “She has her lipstick on, she has earrings, she has my family’s names on my bracelets, which people probably can’t see because she’s so big. It’s gorgeous, and I love that she has her ponytail. And when little girls walk around and get a chance to see it, they see a woman, the First Lady statue out there. That means so much to me.”
Leslie’s résumé is filled with accomplishments that helped break barriers for women athletes. She is a two-time WNBA champion, three-time league MVP, four-time Olympic gold medalist and the first woman to dunk in a professional basketball game. During her 12-year WNBA career with the Sparks, Leslie also helped expand perceptions of women athletes, demonstrating that they could dominate on the court while expressing themselves through fashion and media.
Leslie’s unusual height made basketball a natural fit early in life. She was already six feet tall by age 12. In middle school, Leslie joined the boys’ basketball team after learning the fundamentals of the game from family members who encouraged her to develop a tough, physical style of play.
She soon began playing in the Olympic Girls’ Development League, often competing against girls several years older. The OGDL exposed Leslie to college basketball coaches, and she received more than 100 college recruiting letters before even starting high school.
Leslie went on to have a decorated high school career, earning California Freshman of the Year honors and winning two state championships. She earned national recognition as an All-American and made the U.S. Junior National Team, traveling abroad for the first time to compete in the World Championship Tournament in Spain.
Leslie continued her success at USC, leading the Trojans to four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. She was named the 1991 National Freshman of the Year and the 1994 Naismith College Player of the Year. Leslie also received All-American honors in 1992, 1993 and 1994. She set Pac-10 conference records for scoring, rebounding and blocked shots and became the first player in conference history to earn first-team All-Pac-10 honors in each of her four seasons.
“I stamped my position in this game and carried it as far as I could,” Leslie said while reflecting recently on the growth of the WNBA. “I’m proud of the players and the product that is being put on the floor every night. And I’m just proud of the opportunities that these women are getting.”
Now, Leslie’s place in that history is cast in bronze outside the arena where she helped establish women’s professional basketball as a permanent part of Los Angeles sports.
“I stamped my position in this game and carried it as far as I could,” Leslie said as she reflected on the state of the league in a conversation with USA TODAY ahead of working as an analyst for CBS Sports on the network’s final pregame show of the season. “I’m proud of the players and the product that is being put on the floor every night. And I’m just proud of the opportunities that these women are getting.”
