Lisa Deshaun Leslie (born July 7, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. She is formerly the head coach for Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando Magic broadcasts on FanDuel Sports Network Florida. In 2002, Leslie made history as the first player to dunk during a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) game. Leslie was ranked 5th on ESPN.com's 2021 list of the WNBA's greatest players of all time.
Leslie played in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks from 1997 to 2009. She is a three-time WNBA MVP and a four-time Olympic gold medal winner. The number-seven pick in the 1997 inaugural WNBA draft, she followed her career at the University of Southern California with eight WNBA All-Star selections and two WNBA championships over the course of 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks, before retiring in 2009.
Middle school
During the first few weeks of middle school, a classmate asked Leslie to help out the basketball team.
In eighth grade, she transferred to a junior high school without a girls' basketball team, and joined a boys' basketball team. Her success there contributed to her confidence in her playing abilities.
College career
Leslie attended the University of Southern California from 1990 to 1994. She graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in communications and later completed her master's degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.
Leslie played in a total of 120 college games, averaging 20.1 points, hitting 53.4% of her shots, and knocking down 69.8% of her free throws. She set the Pac-10 Conference records for scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots accumulating 2,414 points, 1,214 rebounds, and 321 blocked shots. She also held the USC single season record for blocked shots (95), until being surpassed by Rayah Marshall (98) in 2023. Leslie was also honored on the national platform by earning the national freshman of the year award in 1991. In 1994, she won multiple national player of the year awards—the Naismith College Player of the Year award, the Honda Sports Award for basketball, and the WBCA Player of the Year award.
!Year
!Team
!GP
!Points
!FG%
!3P%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!SPG
!BPG
!PPG
|-
|1990–91
|USC
|30
|582
|47.8%
|25.0%
|67.6%
|10.0
|0.7
|1.4
|2.6
|19.4
|-
|1991–92
|USC
|31
|632
|55.0%
|25.0%
|69.7%
|8.4
|1.5
|1.8
|1.7
|20.4
|-
|1992–93
|USC
|29
|543
|55.8%
|25.0%
|73.5%
|9.8
|2.0
|2.1
|3.3
|18.7
|-
|1993–94
|USC
|30
|657
|55.8%
|8.0%
|68.7%
|12.3
|2.8
|2.3
|3.1
|21.9
|-
|Career
|
|120
|2414
|53.4%
|18.9%
|69.8%
|10.1
|1.7
|1.9
|2.7
|20.1
|}
WNBA career
The WNBA was incorporated in 1996 and began playing in 1997. Leslie was drafted on January 22 by the Los Angeles Sparks as part of the Initial Allocation phase of the draft. Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997, in a 67 - 57 loss to the New York Liberty. In her first game, Leslie recorded 16 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Due to her performance, Leslie has the distinction of recording the first double-double in WNBA history. Ruthie Bolton of the Sacramento Monarchs also recorded a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds on June 21, 1997, against the Utah Starzz. But chronologically, the Sparks vs. Liberty game was played before the Monarchs vs. Starzz game.
Leslie helped the Sparks make the playoffs five consecutive times, but the team did not win a WNBA title until 2001. That year, Leslie was named the 2001 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category) by the Women's Sports Foundation.
On July 30, 2002, Leslie became the first woman to dunk the ball in a WNBA game. That same year she became the first WNBA player to score over 3,000 total career points and contributed to the Sparks winning their second straight WNBA championship that season. Two seasons later, she became the first player to reach the 4,000-career point milestone. In the 2005 WNBA All-Star Game, Leslie had also become the first WNBA player to dunk in an all-star game. On August 11, 2009, Leslie became the first player to score 6,000 points in a career. Earlier that month she was the first player to reach 10,000 career PRA (points + rebounds + assists), a statistic fundamental to the WNBA "Pick One Challenge" fantasy game.
Leslie announced her retirement effective at the end of the 2009 season on February 4, 2009. The Sparks held a farewell ceremony for Leslie during their final home game of the season in September. She finished holding the league records for points (6,263), rebounds (3,307) and PRA (10,444).
Leslie's final WNBA game ever was Game 3 of the 2009 Western Conference Finals between the Sparks and the Phoenix Mercury. Although Leslie recorded 22 points and 9 rebounds, the Sparks lost the game 74 - 85 and were eliminated from the playoffs.
In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in the fifteen-year history of the WNBA. In 2016, she was voted into the WNBA Top 20@20, in celebration of the league's 20th anniversary.
On September 20, 2026, Leslie will be honored with a statue of herself outside of Crypto.com Arena.
National team career
thumb|right|Leslie playing against [[Spain women's national basketball team|Spain during the 2008 Summer Olympics.]]
Leslie was named to the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team (now called the U19 team). She was 17 at the time, the youngest player on the USA team. The team participated in the second Junior World Championship, held in Bilbao, Spain in July 1989. The USA team lost their opening game to South Korea in overtime, then lost a two-point game to Australia. After winning their next game against Bulgaria, behind 22 points and nine rebounds from Leslie, the USA team again fell in a close game, losing by three points to Czechoslovakia. After beating Zaire in their next game, the USA team played Spain, and fell three points short. Leslie led the team in scoring, rebounds, and blocks, averaging 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and recording 21 blocks over the course of the event. The USA team finished in seventh place. Leslie scored 35 points against Japan in the semifinals of the 1996 Olympics to set an American Olympic women's scoring record.
Leslie has had a rivalry with Lauren Jackson ever since the 2000 Olympics, when the Australian star ripped out Leslie's hair extensions during a game.
WNBA career statistics
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|†
|Denotes seasons in which Leslie won a WNBA championship
|-
|style="background:#E0CEF2; width:1em"|
|WNBA record
|}
Regular season
|+WNBA regular season statistics
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 1997
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 28 || 28 || 32.2 || .431 || .261 || .598 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 9.5° || 2.6 || 1.4 || 2.1 || 3.89 || 15.9
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 1998
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 28 || 28 || 32.1 || .478 || .391 || .768 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 10.2° || 2.5 || 1.5 || 2.1 || 3.64 || 19.6
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 1999
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 32 || 32 || 29.1 || .468 || .423 || .731 || 7.8 || 1.8 || 1.1 || 1.5 || 2.94 || 15.6
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2000
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 32 || 32 || 32.1 || .458 || .219 || .824 || 9.6 || 1.9 || 1.0 || 2.3 || 3.22 || 17.8
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2001<sup>†</sup>
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 31 || 31 || 33.3 || .473 || .367 || .736 || 9.6 || 2.4 || 1.1 || 2.3 || 3.16 || 19.5
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2002
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 31 || 31 || 34.2 || .466 || .324 || .727 || 10.4 || 2.7 || 1.5 || 2.9 || 3.48 || 16.9
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2003
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 23 || 23 || 34.4 || .442 || .324 || .617 || 10.0 || 2.0 || 1.3 || 2.7 || 2.83 || 18.4
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2004
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 34 || 34 || 33.8 || .494 || .273 || .712 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 9.9° || 2.6 || 1.5 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 2.9° || 3.24 || 17.6
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2005
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 34 || 34 || 32.2 || .440 || .206 || .586 || 7.3 || 2.6 || 2.0 || 2.1 || 2.94 || 15.2
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2006
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 34 || 34 || 30.7 || .511 || .400 || .650 || 9.5 || 3.2 || 1.5 || 1.7 || 3.71 || 20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2008
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 33 || 33 || 32.1 || .463 || .235 || .661 || 8.9 || 2.4 || 1.5 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 2.9° || 3.61 || 15.1
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2009
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 23 || 21 || 27.7 || .518 || .167 || .722 || 6.6 || 2.1 || 0.7 || 1.4 || 2.60 || 15.4
|-
| style="text-align:left" | Career
| style="text-align:left" | 12 years, 1 team
| 363 || 361 || 32.0 || .470 || .316 || .695 || 9.1 || 2.4 || 1.4 || 2.3 || 3.34 || 17.3
Playoffs
|+WNBA playoff statistics
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 1999
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 4 || 4 || 36.3 || .483 || .308 || .778 || 8.5 || 2.8 || 1.0 || 1.5 || 3.50 || 19.0
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2000
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 4 || 4 || 34.8 || .491 || .000 || .826 || 10.3 || 2.0 || 0.2 || 1.2 || 3.25 || 18.8
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2001
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 7 || 7 || 37.1 || .492 || .429 || .740 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 12.3° || 3.0 || 1.7 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 4.4° || 3.71 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 22.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2002
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 6 || 6 || 38.7 || .535 || .625 || .731 || 7.8 || 1.8 || 1.8 || 2.8 || 1.33 || 19.3
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2003
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 9 || 9 || 36.3 || .540 || .333 || .704 || 8.9 || 2.6 || 1.3 || 3.1 || 2.67 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 20.8°
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2004
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 3 || 3 || 36.7 || .452 || .000 || .750 || 8.7 || 0.7 || 0.3 || 2.7 || 2.67 || 11.3
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2005
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 2 || 2 || 33.5 || .357 || .000 || .615 || 6.5 || 3.5 || 2.5 || 1.5 || 1.00 || 9.0
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2006
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 5 || 5 || 32.6 || .308 || .333 || .759 || 7.2 || 1.8 || 0.8 || 1.6 || 3.40 || 12.6
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2008
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 6 || 6 || 32.0 || .516 || .500 || .625 || 8.8 || 2.2 || 1.2 || 2.8 || 4.33 || 13.8
|-
| style="text-align:left" | 2009
| style="text-align:left" | Los Angeles
| 6 || 6 || 34.6 || .452 || .000 || .615 || 9.2 || 2.0 || 1.3 || 1.5 || 2.17 || 16.7
|-
| style="text-align:left" | Career
| style="text-align:left" | 10 years, 1 team
| 52 || 52 || 35.4 || .480 || .390 || .711 || 9.1 || 2.3 || 1.3 || style="background:#EOCEF2" | 2.5 || 2.90 || 17.5
Other professional endeavors
Apart from basketball, Leslie is also a fashion model and an aspiring actress. She has been featured in Vogue and Newsweek, as well as many sports publications. In 2011, she had become a co-owner of the Los Angeles Sparks. In 2018, Leslie joined Fox Sports Florida as a studio analyst on Orlando Magic broadcasts.
Leslie was named coach of the Triplets - an expansion team of the BIG3 three-on-three league founded by Ice Cube - on January 10, 2019, and that year led the team to a 7–1 record, and winning the BIG3 Championship.
Personal life
left|thumb|Leslie at an event hosted by [[National School Choice Week in Phoenix, Arizona.]]
On November 5, 2005, Leslie married Michael Lockwood, who played basketball for the United States Air Force Academy and is a pilot for UPS. In 2007, she took a year's leave from professional basketball for a pregnancy, and her daughter was born that same year. Leslie returned to the WNBA for the 2008 season.
Leslie is a Christian. In an interview, she spoke about her faith, "As a prayerful kid, I was always putting my faith and goals in the Lord's name. That was always one of the things that helped me the most. I always wanted to fulfill His purpose. I think that's really been the saving grace for me. When you have faith, you have to step out on it [and trust God]."
On February 4, 2020, Leslie was interviewed by Gayle King to talk about her friendship with Kobe Bryant. During the interview, Leslie was asked about Bryant's sexual assault case in 2003. Leslie responded that those accusations did not align with the person she knew.
Leslie is a realtor and co-founder of a sports and entertainment real-estate firm named Aston Rose.
Leslie was initiated as an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority on July 15, 2021.
See also
- List of basketball players who have scored 100 points in a single game
- List of WNBA career rebounding leaders
- List of multiple Olympic gold medalists in one event
- WBCBL Professional Basketball Trailblazer Award
References
Further reading
External links
- Lisa Leslie at Basketball-Reference.com
- WNBA chat transcript
- 101-point half at USA Today