WNBA
Upgraded Sept. 20, 2026, 6:54 p.m. ET
Lipstick. Long nails. A present efficient in communicating the lofty legend of Lisa Leslie.
Those are the natural requirements that included the Los Angeles Sparks revealing in May that they were set to honor the Hall of Famer with a statue. It was to be revealed on Sunday, Sept. 20 at Crypto.com Arena.
No matter how the bronze sculpting ends up, Leslie’s ladies’s basketball tradition is more than obvious.
A two-time WNBA champ, three-time league MVP, winner of 4 successive Olympic gold medals and very first female to soak in a WNBA video game, Leslie broke numerous barriers for females professional athletes. She revealed them they might control and reveal themselves through style and media throughout her 12-year WNBA profession with the Sparks.
Leslie left a plan that can be traced to stars like Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson– the league’s only four-time MVP– and Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese, who both boast signature shoes, have actually appeared in Vogue publication and video while increasingly boosting their particular groups.
“I marked my position in this video game and brought it as far as (I) could,” Leslie stated as she assessed the state of the league in a discussion with USA TODAY ahead of working as an expert for CBS Sports on the network’s last pregame program of the season. “I’m happy of the gamers and the item that is being placed on the flooring each and every night. And I’m simply happy with the chances that these females are getting.”
The 6-foot-5 center from Inglewood, California, was fresh off playing in the 1994 NCAA Tournament for USC when she negotiated her own Nike offer. She pressed even further into pop culture as the very first WNBA gamer to sign an agreement with a modeling company in 1996, when she signed with Wilhelmina designs less than a month before winning Olympic gold for Team USA in Atlanta.
Leslie likewise ventured into Hollywood, acting in films like “Think Like a Man” and “Uncle Drew” and in programs consisting of “Sister, Sister” and “The Simpsons.” You can even hear her name pointed out in hip-hop hits by the similarity Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and more.
For Wilson and Reese, Leslie’s effect remains in the minutes nobody sees.
“She informed me she thought in me and what I might do, even when other individuals didn’t, “Reese stated after practice on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
WNBA What’s Lisa Leslie’s impact on the WNBA’s existing stars?
Leslie explains herself as an “auntie”to lots of in the league, who rather consider her as something even better.
“She’s been an excellent coach to me. A huge sibling to me, “Reese stated.
Stimulates forward Nneka Ogwumike, who is retiring at the end of this season, utilized the exact same terminology as she spoke with press reporters about Leslie’s statue at practice on Saturday, Sept. 19.
“She can be found in early in my profession and offered me mentorship,” Ogwumike stated. “(It’s) a nearly like household relationship, an extremely unexpected sisterhood.”
For Leslie, sisterhood is appearing. She existed when Wilson passed her to move into 14th put on the league’s all-time scoring list on July 12, with her 6,264 th profession point.
Long in the past then, Leslie was there for Wilson. Pressing and supporting her.
“I keep in mind having discussions with her in the bubble (2020 COVID-19 season) when I initially went to the Finals, when I initially won my MVP,” Wilson informed USA TODAY. “She’s constantly somebody that is continuously a bug in my ear of how I can be much better, however likewise comprehending that I’m excellent at where I am.”
Before Reese was the No. 7 total choice by the Chicago Sky in 2024, Leslie made certain to supply motivating words.
“When I understood I wasn’t returning to LSU, she called me and informed me, ‘I understand you’re prepared and you’re going to do a great deal of fantastic things,'” Reese remembered.
WNBA What was Lisa Leslie’s ‘sweat equity’ in the WNBA?
Ogwumike willed the having a hard time Sparks to a win over the New York Liberty in their event of the WNBA’s 30 seasons on June 21. As Ogwumike wept after the buzzer-beating shot, Leslie covered her in an accept.
“It’s psychological seeing all these legends in the structure. Individuals that didn’t make money their worth, and they’re still coming here and supporting us,” Ogwumike stated.
Leslie’s settlement in the WNBA never ever came close to the brand-new million-dollar wages Ogwumike assisted work out in its newest WNBA CBA. Leslie was making league optimum of $91,000 in 2006, according to the Associated Press. She retired in 2009.
Even Leslie’s off court chances were restricted. She had the Nike Total Air 9 launched in 1998 as the 2nd WNBA signature professional athlete behind Sheryl Swoopes, however there was never ever another release of Leslie’s shoe.
“I do not understand if (interest) wasn’t there or if the shoes simply offered out which was completion of it,” Leslie informed USA TODAY. “I’m not stating Nike didn’t comprehend the minute– clearly I never ever got a seven-figure agreement and I never ever got my own line– however I believe it’s like the sweat equity that’s needed in any brand-new company. Financial investment and loss of cash or whatever is in some cases essential in order for there to be development, and we comprehended that. The sweat equity that we took into it was to see these minutes today.”
That truth isn’t lost on Reese, whose Reebok signature shoe has actually been launched in numerous colorways amidst a flurry of offers, consisting of collaborations with Victoria’s Secret and Juicy Couture. That’s why Reese made certain to consist of Leslie in the 2025 McDonald’s Super Bowl business to release the Angel Reese Special, which was the junk food chain’s very first signature meal by a lady professional athlete.
Wilson’s Nike signature line consists of clothes and shoes; the A’One revealed in 2024 and the A’Two revealed in March.
“I assemble an entire PowerPoint to attempt and produce my own line back then and attempt to get Nike to make longer trousers and charming sweatsuits and all of these things,'” Leslie informed USA TODAY. “I defended those things and I attempted. It didn’t take place. I look at A’ja and I’m pleased.”
Leslie will be the 2nd WNBA gamer bestowed a statue by their expert group after the Seattle Storm provided Sue Bird a statue at Climate Pledge Arena in August 2025. Wilson has a statue on the University of South Carolina’s school.
“Lisa was not the cookie cutter picture of what they desired us as ladies of the WNBA to appear like. She offered us the feel of, ‘Be yourself.’ I believe that was sort of ignored and eclipsed, however I believe she still constantly appears as her real self constantly. That’s why I appreciate her a lot,” Wilson informed USA TODAY.
“She’s done a terrific task of transcending our video game. It’s clearly belonged of me. When you have greats like that putting into you, it’s simply– I’m happy she’s getting a statue. It’s about damn time.”
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