Lisa Leslie - The Femme Fatale
BASKETBALL - CENTER - WNBA - LA SPARKS - TEAM USA
ARCHETYPE: THE FEMME FATALE
Day 128/135
Athletic Accomplishments
In the inaugural season of the WNBA, Lisa Leslie was one of the league’s marquee players, who has cemented herself as one of the all-time greats.
Leslie began playing basketball late in elementary school. Naturally left-hand dominant, she was lonely as the only person in the lefty layup line, so she joined everyone else on the right side. As a result, she became ambidextrous in developing her finishing skills. In eighth grade, Leslie attended a junior high without a girls’ basketball team, so had to join the boys’ team. (Quick aside: think of how many girls were prevented from competing or dissuaded from playing because of this kind of lack of access when they were growing up.)
In high school Leslie played varsity volleyball and ran track, qualifying for the state meet in the 400m and high jump. She was—pretty obviously—also a basketball standout, leading her team to a California state championship in 1989.
Leslie attended the University of Southern California for college, where she was a four-time All-Pac-10 selection, 1991 Pac-10 Rookie of the Year, 1991 National Freshman of the Year, and three-time All-American (1992, 1993, 1994). While at USC, she set Pac-10 records for points (2,414), rebounds (1,214), and blocks (321). In 1994, Leslie was honored as National Player of the Year, winning the Honda Sports Award.
Leslie graduated in 1994, but the WNBA didn’t even start until 1997, meaning Leslie missed 3 years in the prime of her physical fitness. Once again, think of all the women who were denied access and opportunity simply because there wasn’t a league for them.
In 1997, Leslie was selected by the LA Sparks as the No. 7 overall pick in the inaugural draft. Not only was she the first woman to dunk in a WNBA game, she was also a three-time WNBA MVP, two-time WNBA champion, three-time Finals MVP, and eight-time All-Star. In 2009, Leslie retired after 11 seasons with the Sparks, holding the league records for points (6,263) and rebounds (3,307). She remains the Sparks’ scoring and rebounding leader, and her jersey No. 9 has been retired. She was voted by fans as one of the WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time (2011).
Leslie also led Team USA to four Olympic gold medals and set an Olympic scoring record, ringing up 35 points in a game against Japan.
In 2015, she was inducted into both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Character Archetype: The Femme Fatale
I can still remember the commercials. A group of dudes playing pickup basketball on some outdoor courts, when a voice interrupted to say those familiar words… “Yo… We got next!”
But this time, it was a woman’s voice. And then, we saw all 6 feet 5 inches of Lisa Leslie lacing up, ready to ball for the inaugural season of the WNBA. You remember that? Because it blew my 14 year-old mind.
Leslie was a natural as the face of the league. She was telegenic, model pretty, AND the first woman to dunk in a game. Her femininity neither confined nor defined her. Her game still did the talking.
Here we are, 25 years later, and the WNBA is better than ever. But Lisa Leslie remains one of the all-time greats: an 8x All-Star, 2x champion, 3x MVP, 4x Olympic gold medalist, and Naismith Hall of Famer. And Leslie is now a co-owner of the Sparks, becoming the first WNBA player to invest in a team.
So, who got next?