Lisa Leslie
(Born 1972)
Hall of Fame Induction:2015
Card Shown:
2015 Panini National VIP
Hall of Fame
Position: C
Height: 6’5″
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Lisa Leslie became the face of the new WNBA league in 1997 and played for the Los Angeles Sparks for her entire twelve-year career. She led the Sparks to two WNBA Championships and was the league Most Valuable Player three times. At 6’5″, Leslie was a dominant center who could score and defend. She retired as the all-time leading rebounder in WNBA history and still ranks as one of the top scorers and rebounders in WNBA history.
Awards and Honors
- Lisa attended the University of Southern California (USC) where she averaged 20.1 points per game. At USC, she was a three-time All-American. She graduated as the Pac-10’s all-time leader in scoring and rebounding.
- Leslie led the Sparks to WNBA Championships in 2001 against the Charlotte Sting and again in 2002 against the New York Liberty. Lisa was named the Finals Most Valuable Player both years.
- Leslie was named the WNBA MVP three times: in 2001, 2004, and 2006.
- Lisa helped lead Team USA to four Olympic gold medals. They won in Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004, and Beijing in 2008.
- Leslie was an eight-time WNBA All-Star during the twelve years that she played with the Sparks.
Points of Interest
- When she was seven or eight years old, Leslie’s mom saw her signing her name over and over. She asked Lisa who she was going to give these autographs out to. Lisa responded that she didn’t know who her audience was yet, but that she had to give out autographs.
- Leslie was the first WNBA player to dunk the basketball during a regular season game. She accomplished this feat on July 30, 2002 in a game against the Miami Sol. Years later in 2008, the second player to dunk in a game would be Candace Parker, also from the Sparks.
- In 2001, Lisa became the first player in WNBA history to win all three Most Valuable Player Awards. She was the MVP for the regular season, the All-Star game, and the 2001 WNBA Finals.
- Leslie sat out the 2007 WNBA season in order to give birth to her first child. She returned to play for the Sparks in 2008 and 2009 before retiring from professional basketball.
- Sheryl Swoopes, Rebecca Lobo, and Leslie were the first three marquee players to commit to playing in the WNBA.
Statistics
Lisa Leslie Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference
Personal Autograph Interaction
At the 2024 Hall of Fame Enshrinement weekend, Lisa Leslie signed the card below after the Awards Gala. I waited patiently while a group of young girls got sheets of paper signed by Lisa and then took pictures with her. After that she signed my 2008 Rittenhouse Team USA Champions card. I am collecting that subset and was also able to get Tamika Catchings, Seimone Augustus, and Tina Thompson to sign a card from that set during the weekend.
Thank you, Lisa!
In-Person Autograph Photo
Lisa signed my 2008 Rittenhouse Champions Team USA card.