playRamona ShelburneSep 20, 2026, 09:52 PM ETCloseSenior writer for ESPN.comSpent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily NewsMultiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsLOS ANGELES — Lisa Leslie has always been a trailblazer. The first woman to dunk in a WNBA game, the first WNBA player to sign with a modeling agency, and now the first Los Angeles Sparks player to be immortalized with a bronze statue outside of Crypto.com Arena.Leslie became the 16th person honored with a statue in what has become known as Star Plaza in a Sunday afternoon ceremony featuring her college coach at USC, Marianne Stanley; Los Angeles Lakers legends Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, James Worthy and Michael Cooper; and former Sparks teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Candace Parker.”First of all, she’s cute,” Leslie said upon seeing the 11-foot bronze statue of her iconic dunk unveiled to the public for the first time. “I was so worried. I did not want to look like a linebacker up here.
But she’s cute.”I wanted to make sure that this statue was a perfect blend of fearlessness and the competitor that I was and I am and I’ll always be. But also … I wore my ribbons, I had my nails polished, which y’all can’t see, but the girl got her polish on because I never wanted the boys or the men to think that I was a boy.”I wanted to play hard like them, but I wanted them to know that I respected myself and that I was a lady. And I wanted for little girls to see my ribbons when I played because I wanted them to be able to see themselves in me.”Leslie’s statue, which sits atop a 4½-foot-tall base, is named The First Lady.
She is the first Sparks player to be honored with a statue in Star Plaza and the second woman. The first was Gigi Bryant, who died alongside her father, Kobe Bryant, in a 2020 helicopter crash.”I’m right across from my little baby brother, Kobe,” Leslie said, pointing to a statue of Bryant across the plaza. “And I’m so thankful to the Bryant family for being here. I love you guys.”I’m right across from Kobe.
I’m right by Magic. The people who have just poured into my life. I can’t say it enough. To be cemented here in Hollywood, but it’s also a lasting legacy that my ancestors would be proud of.”During her speech, Leslie recounted her journey growing up as the child of a single mother in nearby Compton, California.
She later went on to star at Morningside High in Inglewood and won the 1994 national title at USC. Shortly after winning that title, she negotiated her own contract with Nike — a landmark moment for women athletes that demonstrated her considerable crossover appeal. In 1996, she signed with Wilhelmina Models right before the Olympic Games in Atlanta. Then in 1997, she joined the Sparks for their inaugural season.Over her 12-year WNBA career, Leslie was a three-time league MVP and led the Sparks to championships in 2001 and 2002.
She was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.Leslie’s statue was created by sculptor Omri Amrany and artist Julie Rotblatt Amrany. Leslie said Sunday that she “fussed” over the statue for months, traveling to Chicago to meet with the sculptors to make sure it captured her blend of grace, beauty and competitive ferocity.Cooper, her longtime coach with the Sparks who was among the featured speakers Sunday, told stories of her legendary work ethic and competitive fire.”Our paths first crossed in 1994 when I was giving a camp in Pasadena,” Cooper said. “I knew she was going to be great because she challenged me to a slam dunk contest at my own camp. The way you won was by the applause of the kids.
So she went up, made her first dunk, crowd went crazy and I lost.”Leslie won over other members of Cooper’s Showtime era Lakers in much the same way.”She used to come up to UCLA and play against us,” Johnson said. “She didn’t want to play with the women. No, no, no. She wanted to play with the guys.
Coop and I looked up and said, ‘Lisa is going at them.’ She kind of dominated these dudes out there.”Cooper then recalled how Leslie would come to the gym early in the mornings before practice and ask him to work with her on post moves — Worthy’s spin move, Johnson’s baby hook, Hakeem Olajuwon’s baseline fake and turnaround jumper.”I’m a proud mom watching them. I’m so proud of where the women’s game is. When we were playing, we had support and we had fans. I don’t want to overlook the fans that have been here from day one.
But the dream was always that we hoped that our USA, everybody across the board could see us, could see the beauty in us, could see the strength in us, could see our hard work and our resilience. … Today, they see it. They see it in a big way. We have the support that I had always hoped for.” Lisa Leslie on today’s WNBA “The uniqueness about Lisa Leslie was that she would just use those moves and work on them.
She used them in a game,” Cooper said. “And every time she made one of them, she would run down the court yelling and pointing at me and I would point at her to let us know that the work was not yet done.”She did all of this up until her eighth month in pregnancy. That’s when we had to stop. I like to see you do that, Larry Bird.”Since her retirement in 2009, Leslie has built her career in business and broadcasting.
She has stayed close to the women’s game and developed close mentorships with many of the younger stars in the league today.”I’m a proud mom watching them,” she said. “I’m so proud of where the women’s game is. When we were playing, we had support and we had fans. I don’t want to overlook the fans that have been here from day one.
But the dream was always that we hoped that our USA, everybody across the board could see us, could see the beauty in us, could see the strength in us, could see our hard work and our resilience. OK, maybe we weren’t all dunking, but it still was an amazing game. It was a physical game. It was a game played right.
And so that was always my dream and hope that people could see that.”Today, they see it. They see it in a big way. We have the support that I had always hoped for.”I’m proud of the product that’s on the floor. These women are up under so much pressure.
When you think about social media, we didn’t have that. We had people talking about us in the newspaper, but you didn’t have to read it. Social media is right at your fingertips every single day with people’s opinions about you that you didn’t ask for. So I love the way that these women carry themselves, that they endure so much, and they do it with such beauty and grace.”
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