WNBA Biography: Lisa Leslie
What can I say about Lisa Leslie? Not only is she one of the greatest female basketball players of all-time, but the girl is fine too – with a capital “F.”
Okay, okay, this isn’t about Leslie’s looks – although I could write an article about that subject as well (although my wife would probably kill me). This is about Leslie and what she has accomplished in her well-publicized basketball career.
One of the league’s original WNBA players, Leslie quickly rose to stardom as one of the league’s best – and most popular – players. Leslie has won two WNBA championships and has also made history by becoming the first player to perform a dunk in WNBA history as well as becoming the first woman to get to 5,000 career points.
Leslie has been on a national stage ever since she was a dominating high school player made legendary by scoring 101 points in the first half of one game, and would have certainly broken Cheryl Miller’s high school record of 105 points if the other team had not forfeited at halftime.
Throughout the late 1990s, Leslie’s Sparks kept making the playoffs, but getting eliminated as the Houston Comets claimed every WNBA championship played in that decade. However, in 2001, the Sparks were finally able to topple the Comets, before they went on to beat the Charlotte Sting to win the WNBA title for the first time. In 2001, Leslie was named MVP of the league, the all-star game and the finals.
On July 30 of 2002, against the Miami Sol, she finally became the first woman to score with a dunk in a WNBA game. On June 23, of this season, Leslie scored her 5,000th career point and set an individual career high with 41 points versus the San Antonio Silver Stars. Leslie has also helped to lead the U.S. Women’s National Basketball team to gold medals in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.
I could mention an endless string of Leslie’s impressive career statistics like her career averages of 17.6 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game and 2.80 blocks per game, but that wouldn’t tell half the story of Lisa Leslie.
This season, Leslie is averaging 22.0 points per game and 10.1 rebounds through 14 games – typical numbers for Lisa Leslie – arguably the greatest feamle basketball player of all-time.
