Lisa Leslie didn't want to play basketball as a kid, and actually turned down many offers to play the game. She later became a team member of the LA Sparks in the WNBA. Rather than spurring her interest, though, the repeated inquisitions turned her against the sport. "I hated it," she has admitted. At a friend's prodding, however, she eventually tried out for her middle school team, and her entire mindset changed. "I just changed my whole attitude," she noted in People. "I guess it was my destiny, but I never knew it."
Once Leslie gained an interest in basketball, she worked hard to excel in the sport. With the encouragement of a cousin, she embarked on a self-directed training regimen, which included sit-ups, push-ups, drills and shooting baskets, as well as taking on male players after whom she then modeled her own style of play.
Hard work and perseverance were familiar to Leslie, whose father left the family when she was four years old. Raised by her mother Christine, Leslie learned about hard work and struggle watching her mother work as a cross-country truck driver to earn money to support her three daughters. During the school year, Leslie was often cared for by a babysitter or an aunt. Her mother's absence forced her to mature and gain self-reliance early. In the summers, she and a sister accompanied their mother, sleeping on a bunk in the back of the rig. Despite her mother's long absences, Leslie credits Christine with imparting numerous life lessons. Christine, who stands 6'3", taught her daughter to be proud of her stature. "She raised me to be confident and hold my head up," Leslie told People magazine.
Leslie entered Morningside High School in Inglewood, California in 1987. By her junior year she was receiving national attention for her on-court prowess. Averaging 21.7 points, 12.8 rebounds and 6.2 block shots per game that year, USA Today named her a first-team high school All-American.
The following season, Leslie achieved an almost unfathomable feat, scoring 101 points in the first half of a game against South Torrance High. She set a national high school record with thirty-one free throws and added thirty-seven field goals as well. With Leslie having scored all but one of her team's 102 points and her school leading 102-24 at the half, South Torrance forfeited, much to Leslie's dismay. Continuance of the game wold have allowed her to best the women's national high school record for points in a single game, held by basketball legend Cheryl Miller. Leslie begged the South Torrance coach to reconsider, but to no avail. Miller's record still stands today.
While that personal triumph was denied, Leslie and her team recognized a collective victory when they captured the California state title later that year. Leslie averaged 26.9 points, fifteen rebounds and 6.9 blocked shots per game that season and scored thirty- five points, grabbed twelve rebounds and blocked seven shots in the championship game against Berkeley High School, despite suffering from chicken pox. Her efforts yielded her a prestigious Naismith Award and a Dial Award for the nation's top high school student- athlete. Leslie graduated with a new state record for rebounding (1705). She held varsity letters in volleyball and track, as well as basketball. She also served as class president for three years.
Leslie became the most recruited female basketball player since Miller in 1983, and she elected to stay near home and play for Miller's alma matter, University of Southern California. Leslie shone at USC, and was named national and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. She also became the first-ever freshman to be named to the Pac-10 first team, to which she would be named every year of her college career. She led USC to four NCAA tournaments, advancing to the "Great Eight" in both 1992 and 1994. After her senior season, in which she averaged 21.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per game, she was awarded her second Naismith Award. She was named an All-American in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and USA Basketball named her Female Athlete of the Year in 1993.
In the off-season, Leslie experienced international competition. She played with the U.S. women's Junior World Championship team in 1989 and averaged a team-high 13.3 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. A year later she was the last player cut from the U.S. women's national team and a year after that, she led the U.S. women's team to a gold medal at the World University Games. Leslie was the youngest player to try out for the U.S. Olympic Team in 1992. She did not make the cut, but two years later she made the U.S. women's national team, which captured a gold medal at the Goodwill Games.
Leslie traveled to Sicilgesso, Italy to play professionally in 1994, as there were at the time no U.S. outlets for female players. The lack of opportunities at home frustrated Leslie. "I think we are cheated as a gender," she told Entertainment Weekly "No one knows what happens to all the great people in our game. It seems like we're written off."
Leslie returned home in 1996 to play with the U.S. Olympic "Dream Team." The team earned a gold medal and Leslie led the team in scoring with 19.5 points per game. She also broke the women's Olympic record with thirty-five points in a semifinal game against Japan. After the Olympics, Leslie was offered an opportunity to play professionally at home, in the newly formed Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). While initially unsure if she wished to continue playing after the Olympics, she eventually signed on with her hometown team, the Los Angeles Sparks.
Again, Leslie emerged as the star of the team. Coach Michael Cooper, who played for the L.A. Lakers, likened her to one of his former teammates. "Lisa is smooth like Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]," he once told Sports Illustrated. Leslie led the Sparks to two WNBA championships, in 2001 and 2002, and was named MVP of the finals both times. In the summer of 2002, she scored one giant leap for womankind when, on July 30, she became the first woman to slam dunk in a professional game.
Leslie has not limited her professional interests to basketball. Prior to the Olympics, she signed a contract with the prestigious Wilhelmina Models agency and has been featured in Vogue. She has also been a guest actor on several sitcoms, including Moesha and Sister, Sister.
In addition, after her mother experienced a breast cancer scare, Leslie became a spokesperson for breast cancer awareness and prevention. "Having that scare so close to home, I had to become more educated about it," she told Ebony. "I used to wear the pink ribbons but I did not really understand breast cancer." Now, she travels the country to speak on the topic, sometimes accompanied by her mother, and her public service announcements are shown on television and at sports arenas. "I've had a wonderful opportunity to reach a lot of people in inner-city communities and just around the world," Leslie told Ebony. "A lot of people come up to me and say 'Thank you. I saw your public service announcement and I got checked and they found a lump. It was benign.' People have told me so many different stories about how they used to be afraid of [the exam]."
Whether its on the basketball court, on television or during public service activities, Leslie maintains a pioneering spirit wherever she ventures. The days when she swore she'd never see a basketball court are clearly behind her. Today, it is impossible to talk of the strides women have made in the sport without mentioning Leslie's name.
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