Lisa Leslie facts for kids
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | July 7, 1972 Compton, California, U.S. |
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| High school | Morningside (Inglewood, California) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | USC (1990–1994) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 1997 / Allocated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1997–2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As player: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2009 | Los Angeles Sparks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2024 | Triplets | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As player:
As head coach:
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| Career WNBA statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Points | 6,263 (17.3 ppg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 3,307 (9.1 rpg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blocks | 822 (2.3 bpg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Lisa Deshaun Leslie (born July 7, 1972) is a famous American former professional basketball player. She used to be the head coach for the Triplets in the BIG3 basketball league. She also works as a sports analyst for Orlando Magic games on FanDuel Sports Network Florida. In 2002, Lisa Leslie made history as the first player to dunk the ball during a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) game. She was ranked as one of the WNBA's greatest players of all time by ESPN.com in 2021.
Lisa Leslie played for the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA from 1997 to 2009. She won the WNBA MVP award three times. She also won four Olympic gold medals with the USA team. She was one of the first players chosen in the 1997 WNBA draft. During her 11 seasons with the Sparks, she was picked for the WNBA All-Star team eight times. She also helped the Sparks win two WNBA championships. She retired from playing in 2009. In 2011, fans voted her as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. She also played for USA Basketball in international games. She won four Olympic gold medals (in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008). She also won two FIBA World Championships (in 1998 and 2002).
In 2015, Lisa Leslie was honored by being added to both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. After becoming the coach of the Triplets in 2019, she led her team to win the BIG3 Championship that same year.
Contents
Early Life and Basketball Beginnings
Lisa Leslie was born in Compton, California. Her mother, Christine Lauren Leslie, was 6 feet 3 inches tall. Her father, Walter Leslie, was also a professional basketball player. Christine started her own truck driving business to support her three children. Lisa has two sisters, Dionne and Tiffany, and a brother, Elgin. When she was young, she played on an all-girls basketball team that had an amazing record of 33 wins and only 1 loss.
Middle School Basketball
When Lisa started middle school, a classmate asked her to join the basketball team. During tryouts, players were asked to split into groups for layup drills: left-handed and right-handed. Lisa was the only left-handed player. So, she decided to practice using her right hand. This helped her become good with both hands, which was a big advantage in basketball.
In eighth grade, she moved to a junior high school that did not have a girls' basketball team. She decided to join the boys' basketball team instead. Playing with the boys helped her become even more confident in her basketball skills.
High School Achievements
By the time Lisa was 14, before she even started high school, she was already getting many letters from colleges wanting her to play for them. Some of these were from top Division I schools like the University of Tennessee and Stanford University.
In 1986, Lisa started high school at Morningside High School in Inglewood, California. She quickly became a star on the girls' varsity basketball team, starting every game. She also played volleyball and competed in track and field. She even qualified for state competitions in the 400-meter run and the high jump.
By her second year of high school, she could dunk the ball during games, even though she couldn't palm the ball yet. She was the best scorer and rebounder on her team. She led them to win the California state championship in 1989. Lisa was also invited to play for the USA's Junior World Championship team. In her senior year, she was considered the best player in the country. She led her team to another state championship, averaging 27 points and 15 rebounds per game. In 1990, she tied a national record by scoring 101 points in just the first half of a high school game.
College Basketball Career
Lisa Leslie went to the University of Southern California (USC) from 1990 to 1994. She earned a bachelor's degree in communications. Later, she completed her master's degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.
During her college career, Lisa played in 120 games. She averaged 20.1 points per game. She set new records for the Pac-10 Conference in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots. She scored 2,414 points, grabbed 1,214 rebounds, and blocked 321 shots.
While Lisa was at USC, her team had a great record of 89 wins and 31 losses. They won one Pac-10 conference championship and played in the NCAA tournament four times. Lisa was recognized as an All-Pac-10 player all four years. She was also the first player in Pac-10 history to be on the first team all four years and win the Pac-10 Rookie of the Year award in 1991. In 1994, she won several national player of the year awards, including the Naismith College Player of the Year award.
WNBA Career Highlights
The WNBA started in 1997. Lisa Leslie was one of the first players chosen in the draft on January 22, 1997, by the Los Angeles Sparks. Her first game was on June 21, 1997. In that game, she scored 16 points and had 14 rebounds. This made her the first player to record a "double-double" (scoring double digits in two different stats) in WNBA history.
Lisa helped the Sparks reach the playoffs five times in a row. In 2001, the team finally won their first WNBA championship. That year, Lisa was named the Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation.
On July 30, 2002, Lisa Leslie made history again by becoming the first woman to dunk the ball in a WNBA game. In the same year, she became the first WNBA player to score over 3,000 career points. She also helped the Sparks win their second WNBA championship in a row. Two seasons later, she was the first player to reach 4,000 career points. Lisa Leslie is still the Sparks' all-time leader in scoring and rebounding. She is also one of the top rebounders in WNBA history. In 2004, she became the third player in WNBA history to get a "triple-double" (double digits in three different stats) with 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 blocks. She also dunked in the 2005 WNBA All-Star Game. On August 11, 2009, Lisa became the first player to score 6,000 points in her career.
Lisa Leslie announced her retirement from basketball on February 4, 2009. The Sparks held a special farewell ceremony for her during their last home game of the season. She retired holding league records for points (6,263) and rebounds (3,307). Her final WNBA game was in the 2009 playoffs.
In 2011, fans voted her as one of the Top 15 players in the WNBA's 15-year history. In 2016, she was chosen for the WNBA Top 20@20 team, celebrating the league's 20th anniversary.
Playing for Team USA
Lisa Leslie was part of the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team when she was 17. She was the youngest player on the team. She also helped the USA team win a gold medal at the 1991 World University Games.
Lisa has played in four Olympic Games and won four gold medals. She is one of only two female basketball players to win that many gold medals. She also won gold medals with the United States national women's basketball team in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. She also won two World Championships. In the 1996 Olympics, she scored 35 points against Japan, setting a new American Olympic women's scoring record.
Lisa Leslie is one of only seven USA Basketball players to compete in three Olympics, and one of two with four gold medals. She led the U.S. team in scoring during the 2004 Olympic Games. During her third Olympics, she became the USA's all-time leading scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker in Olympic games. She always scored double-digit points in major international events.
Other Work and Life After Basketball
Besides basketball, Lisa Leslie has also worked as a fashion model and an actress. She has been in magazines like Vogue and Newsweek. She has also appeared on ESPN many times and guest-starred on TV shows like Sister Sister, The Game, and One on One. She has also been in many commercials. She even played herself in an episode of The Simpsons and in the movie Think Like a Man. She was also a playable character in the video game Backyard Basketball.
Since retiring from playing basketball, Lisa Leslie has become a sports commentator and analyst for networks like NBC, ABC, and Fox Sports Net. She also wrote a book called Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You. In 2011, she became a co-owner of the Los Angeles Sparks. In 2018, she joined Fox Sports Florida as an analyst for Orlando Magic broadcasts.
On January 10, 2019, Lisa Leslie was named the coach of the Triplets, a new team in the BIG3 three-on-three basketball league. That year, she led her team to a 7–1 record and won the BIG3 Championship.
Personal Life
On November 5, 2005, Lisa Leslie married Michael Lockwood. He played basketball for the United States Air Force Academy and is a pilot for UPS. In 2007, she took a year off from basketball because she was pregnant. Her daughter was born that same year. Lisa returned to the WNBA for the 2008 season. She had a son, Michael II, in 2010.
Lisa Leslie is a Christian. She has spoken about how her faith helped her throughout her life and career. She is also a realtor and a co-founder of a real estate company called Aston Rose, which focuses on sports and entertainment. In 2021, she became an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
See also
In Spanish: Lisa Leslie para niños
- 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
