Lisa Leslie
Lisa Leslie
Lisa Deshaun Leslieis an American former professional women's basketball player who played in the Women's National Basketball Association. She is a three-time WNBA MVP and a four-time Olympic gold medal winner. The number seven pick in the 1997 inaugural WNBA draft, she followed a superb career at the University of Southern California with eight WNBA All-Star selections and two WNBA championships over the course of eleven seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks, before retiring in 2009. Leslie, a 6'5" center,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth7 July 1972
CityGardena, CA
CountryUnited States of America
In boys, it's ingrained in their heads that to dunk is just the highlight of basketball, whereas for girls, our shooting technique, making baskets and free throws is taught more. It's such a sexist approach to the sport sometime. Men aren't encouraging their little girls to try to work on their hops. They're encouraging them to work on their jump shots and the fundamentals of the game.
As a role model for young girls and women, I just encourage them to continue their education and set their goals. And for me, mine are just really high and I just happen to be a professional basketball player but I really am a stickler for my goals and I wanted to get my Master's.
I played on an all-boy's team in the 8th grade, but they wouldn't throw me the ball even though I was on their team. One day I stole the ball from my own teammate and I made a basket. From that point on, everyone yelled "Give the ball to the girl!" I was the only girl on the whole league!
I encourage girls to play sports and play hard.
Dunking is something guys care more about than girls, There's something about jumping that seems to fascinate guys. Girls are more, like, 'As long as the ball goes in, who cares how you got it there?'
Most people compliment me on maintaining my femininity while I'm on the court. People like the fact that I model. My fans or little girls always say they want to play sports, but also want to be a model like me and I think that's great.
I played on an all-boys team in the 8th grade, but they wouldnt throw me the ball even though I was on their team. One day I stole the ball from my own teammate and I made a basket. From that point on, everyone yelled Give the ball to the girl! I was the only girl on the whole league!
Boys have a tendency to jump around a lot more than girls. Boys have that desire to want to dunk way more than girls do. It just never seemed like something we could truly fathom and do.
The ball went in and out. That's the way the game bounces.
They did a good job of keeping us off the boards. We felt we needed this game. We did all you can ask. We played hard and we still believe in ourselves.
That's who we want to play, and they want to play us.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. We're both role models who have made different choices. I don't know why we're even talking about it. It's a private matter. It has nothing to do with basketball.
I love cheesecake and whipped cream. Those are my two downfalls.
We're going to the Olympics as favorite to win the gold, and every other team in the Olympics is going bring their best game. We have treat every team with respect, because you know what happen when you take a team lightly. On any given day, you can lose.