Happy 53rd Birthday to Lisa Leslie

Cover photo: Lisa Leslie holding the American flag at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Photo credit: Doug Pensinger, 2004 Getty Images.

A basketball legend celebrates a birthday on July 7 as Lisa Leslie turns 53. 

A native of Gardena, Calif., Leslie was a star at Morningside High School in nearby Inglewood. After a freshman season in which she was named California Freshman of the Year, her high school career became marked by an incredible single-game performance, on February 7, 1990, in which she scored 101 points in the first half (16 minutes) of a game against Torrance’s South High School. She made 37-of-56 shots and 27-of-35 from the free-throw line in the game, with 49 of her points coming in the first quarter. Remarkably, the 101-point game is four points short of the all-time women’s high school record of 105 that was set by Cheryl Miller in 1982. In her junior and senior seasons (1988-89, 1989-90), Leslie led the Monarchs to state championships and in 1990 was both the Naismith Prep Player of the Year and Gatorade National Player of the Year. Leslie was also a USA Today and Parade Magazine 1st Team All-American. At age 17 in 1989, she was a member of the US Junior World Championship team. Despite being the only high school player on the team, she led the squad in scoring and rebounding.

Lisa Leslie’s International Career Accomplishments

1991 University Games gold medalist

1992 Jones Cup gold medalist 

1994 World Championship bronze medalist 

1998, 2002 World Championship gold medalist 

‘96, ‘00, ‘04, ‘08 Olympic Games gold medalist 

2008 FIBA Diamond Ball champion

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Leslie, at 6 feet, 5 inches tall, attended the University of Southern California from 1990-1994. In all four of her seasons for the Women of Troy, she was All-Pac 10 and led the nation in blocks, at 2.6, 1.7, 3.3, and 3.1 per game. She also averaged double-doubles as a freshman (19.4 points, 10.0 rebounds) and senior (21.9 points, 12.3 rebounds). She was a USBWA All-American in her junior year (18.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.3 blocks), was the Naismith Player of the Year as a senior, and was the recipient of the 1994 Honda Sports Award.

Leslie played overseas in Alcamo, Italy in 1995, before representing the United States at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. 

The team, led by 2011 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Tara VanDerveer (Stanford University head women’s coach, 1985-2024), defeated Brazil 111-87 in the Gold Medal Game. In the contest, Leslie recorded 29 points and 6 rebounds. In total, she scored 156 points over the eight games, which is the fifth-most by a women’s player in a single Olympic Games. 

On April 24, 1996, the NBA Board of Governors approved the concept of the WNBA. Leslie would quickly become one of the league’s brightest stars during the league’s first season of 1997 and establish herself as one of the greatest women’s players in the history of the sport. 

During her rookie season, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Leslie averaged 15.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game in 32.2 minutes per game. She made All-WNBA 1st team and was third in MVP voting and fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. In 1998, Leslie (19.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.1 blocks) again was third in MVP voting and fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and made All-WNBA 2nd team. From 1999-2003, she was a WNBA All-Star. 

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Lisa Leslie’s First Five All-Star Seasons in the WNBA 

1999: 15.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 29.1 minutes, 4th in MVP voting, WNBA 2nd team 

2000: 17.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 32.1 minutes, 2nd in MVP voting, WNBA 1st team, 5th in DPOY voting 

2001: 19.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 33.3 minutes, MVP, WNBA 1st team, 4th in DPOY voting

2002: 16.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, 34.2 minutes, 2nd in MVP voting, WNBA 1st team, 3rd in DPOY voting

2003: 18.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 3rd in MVP voting, 3rd in DPOY voting 

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In 2004, Leslie averaged 17.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks (33.8 minutes) and at age 32 won her second of three MVP awards. She was also named Defensive Player of the Year in ‘04. After 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in 2005 (All-WNBA 2nd team, 2nd team All-Defense, 3rd in DPOY voting), Leslie in 2006 won her third MVP award. That season, she averaged 20.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 30.8 minutes per game. 

Leslie won Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and made All-WNBA 1st team with averages of 15.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks in 32.1 minutes per game after missing the 2007 season due to maternity leave. In her final WNBA season of 2009, she posted 15.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 27.7 minutes and made All-WNBA 2nd team and 2nd team All-Defense. 

Leslie retired after the 2009 season, wrapping up one of the most decorated seasons in WNBA history. 

In her twelve seasons, she started 361 of 363 games and in 32 minutes per game averaged 17.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks. She was an 8-time All-Star, 3-time Most Valuable Player, 2-time Defensive Player of the Year and back-to-back champion in 2001 and 2002. The Sparks in those title seasons were coached by former Los Angeles Laker star Michael Cooper, who led the team to a combined 43-11 record. In the 2001 Finals against the Charlotte Sting, Leslie recorded 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in Game 1 and in Game 2 dominated with 29 points (9-of-10 free-throws), 13 rebounds, 7 blocks, and 6 assists. In Game 1 of the 2002 Finals, Leslie tallied 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks, and in Game 2 put up 17 points and 7 rebounds.  

Leslie was also a 3-time All-Star Game MVP (1999, 2001, and 2002) and in 2004 was the WNBA’s Peak Performer. In 2002, she became the first WNBA player to dunk in a game. She was named USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year three times throughout her basketball career (1993, 1998, 2002).

Leslie’s No. 33 jersey was retired by the USC women’s basketball team in 2006, as was Miller’s No. 31. In 2010, the Sparks retired Leslie’s No. 9 jersey. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. From 2019 to 2024, Leslie coached the Triplets team of the Big3 league.

By the time the WNBA was formed, Miller and Nancy Lieberman’s time in the sport had mostly passed (Lieberman played 25 games for the Phoenix Mercury in 1997 and one game in 2008 for the Detroit Shock). It was the likes of Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, Teresa Weatherspoon, Tina Thompson, Dawn Staley, and Yolanda Griffith who carried the WNBA in its early years. 

None of the league’s success occurs without Leslie. Happy 53rd birthday to a California and basketball legend.