Lisa Leslie is a retired American professional basketball player in the WNBA. She is a Basketball Hall of Famer and Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer. Leslie is a two-time WNBA champion, two-time WNBA Finals MVP, three-time WNBA MVP, and four-time Olympic gold medalist.
Leslie was born July 7, 1972 in Gardena, California. She is a former American professional women’s basketball player in the WNBA. Leslie, who is 6 ft 5 inches tall, was six feet tall when she started playing basketball in the seventh grade. She was a dominating player, having scored 101 points in the first half of a high school basketball game.
Leslie attended Morningside High School in Inglewood, California, and was named the 1990 Gatorade Girls Basketball National Player of the Year. She received the Dial Award for female American high-school athlete/scholar of the year in 1989.
| Position | Center |
| Born | 7 Jul 1972 |
| Nationality |
United States
|
| Nickname | Smooth |
| Team History | |
Los Angeles Sparks
|
1997 - 2009 |
Leslie went to the University of Southern California, where she was a four time All-Pacific Ten Conference first team selection. Lisa was on the Women’s Olympic team in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, which won the Gold Medal. After these games, Leslie became one of the original members of the Los Angeles Sparks when the WNBA’s first season opened in 1997.
In 2001, she was named MVP of the league, the All-Star game and the finals, becoming the first player ever to garner all three awards in the same season. On July 30, 2002, in a game against the Miami Sol, Leslie became the first woman to score with a dunk in a WNBA game.
On July 29, 2004, Leslie reached the milestone of 4,000 career points. Later in 2004, she won a gold medal winner with United States women’s national basketball team in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
At the 2005 WNBA All Star Game, Leslie dunked once again in the closing seconds of the game. It was the both the 2nd dunk of her career in the WNBA as well as the second dunk in the history of the WNBA.
On June 25, 2006, Lisa Leslie scored her 5,000th career point and set an individual career high with 41 points versus the San Antonio Silver Stars. At the end of the season, she was named the WNBA MVP for the third time.
In 2009, she recorded 6,000 career points and was the first WNBA player to do so. She retired at the end of the 2009 Season.
Career Accomplishments:
• Gold medal, 2000 Sydney Olympic Games• Gold medal, 2004 Athens Olympic Games• Gold medal, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games• Gold medal, 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games• Gold medal, 1998 Germany World Championships• Gold medal, 2002 China World Championships• Gold medal, 1991 Sheffield World University Games• Gold medal, 1992 Taipei Jones Cup• 2-time WNBA champion (2001, 2002)• 2-time WNBA Finals MVP (2001, 2002)• 3-time WNBA MVP (2001, 2004, 2006)• 8-time WNBA All-Star (1999–2003, 2005, 2006, 2009)• 3-time WNBA All-Star Game MVP (1999, 2001, 2002)• 8-time All-WNBA First Team (1997, 2000–2004, 2006, 2008)• 4-time All-WNBA Second Team (1998, 1999, 2005, 2009)• 2-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2004, 2008)• 2-time WNBA All-Defensive First Team (2006, 2008)• 2-time WNBA All-Defensive Second Team (2005, 2009)• WNBA Peak Performer (2004)• WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All Time (2011)• WNBA Top 20@20 (2016)• WNBA playoffs all-time blocks leader• FIBA World Championship MVP (2002)• FIBA World Championship All-Star Five (2002)
